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.

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

Little Bunny gradually learns to give up his pacifier.

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.

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.

A young boy imagines what his rescued dog's life might have been like before he adopted him.

Provides advice on how to remain safe in and around swimming pools, lakes, and oceans.