Maribeth Boelts

Ruben feels like he is the only kid without a bike. His friend Sergio reminds him that his birthday is coming, but Ruben knows that the kinds of birthday gifts he and Sergio receive are not the same. After all, when Ruben's mom sends him to Sonny's corner store for groceries, sometimes she doesn't have enough money for everything on the list. So when Ruben sees a dollar bill fall out of someone's purse, he picks it up and puts it in his pocket. But...

For soccer games Sierra rides a bus out of the city to fields that are nicer than the "lot" in her neighborhood, but so her auntie can be at her last game, she asks Coach Marco if the team might play in her neighborhood on a day her aunt does not work.

Receiving a giant puffy purple coat from his fashionable friend, Beetle, as a birthday gift, Stick Bug unhappily accompanies Beetle all over town before finding the courage to admit that he does not really care for the flashy coat or the attention it brings.

A boy tells how he will change his behavior on the last day of school.

LB spends the summer dreading the first day of preschool, especially after his second-grade cousin makes him worry about what it will really be like.

Discusses the dangers of a fire, what to do if caught in a fire, and how to plan an emergency exit for a family.

Little Bear wants to stop wetting his bed at night, and his mother patiently helps him realize that that will happen when the time is right.