After learning about the American Revolution on a family trip to Boston, Massachusetts, Judy Moody makes her own Declaration of Independence and tries to prove that she is responsible enough to have more freedom.

Third-grader EllRay is becoming famous for messing up, and when his little sister accidentally kills EllRay's class goldfish, and then he forgets his teacher's read-aloud book at home, it only makes matters worse.

When young Pearl, a mermaid, becomes caretaker of a single grain of sand, she discovers that performing even the smallest task well can transform the world.

When young Elana unexpectedly joins the team leaving the spaceship to study the planet Andrecia, she becomes an integral part of an adventure involving three very different civilizations.

An adventure in Ellie's attic reveals to Keisha her responsibility when she sees kids in her class cheat on a math test.

Eight-year-old, disorganized Gus misses the dog left behind when his family moved, but then he meets a stray cat and a bossy classmate who breaks school rules to help him care for it.

Reaching a compromise with her parents when they say she is too young to attend a concert alone, Mia discovers that she is being cyberbullied on social media and teams up with her fellow Cupcake Club members to discover who is behind the attacks.

"A literature professor tries to rediscover who she is after the sudden death of her husband, even as a series of family and political jolts force her to ask what we owe those in crisis in our families, biological or otherwise"-- Antonia Vega has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening...

When the principal has to be away from school at a conference, Hank's class agrees to take care of the principal's special pet frog, and Hank is chosen to take the frog home for the weekend.

When John was ten years old his father brought back a baby orangutan from Indonesia, and Raja quickly becomes John's "brother" and responsibility--so years later, after his parents divorce, and his father has sold Raja to a roadside zoo, John sets out to rescue him and bring him to a sanctuary in Indonesia.