A child spends a wonderful summer in the country, in a big old house with plenty of mice but no running water, and begs to stay there, but summer's end and a cross-country journey bring a wonderful surprise.

Relates the adventures of a country doll made of an apple-wood twig with a hickory nut for a head.

Maybelle, Jack, and Eddie want to help Ma by putting something extra on the table, so they set out in the dark to take potatoes from a nearby field, but when they arrive home and empty their potato sacks, they are surprised by what they see.

"Two children notice all the beautiful colors that surround them on a rainy summer day out in the country"--

Pelle has a lamb whose coat grows longer and longer, while Pelle's suit grows shorter! Pelle shears his lamb but he doesn't know what to do next. Pelle offers to do chores and run errands for his family and neighbors in exchange for their help to card, spin, dye and weave the wool. When the fleece has finally been made a fine blue cloth, Pelle asks one last favor -- for the tailor to make it into a smart new suit. This is a delightful story from the...

"A walk in the country turns into a busy day on the farm when Claude ends up mucking out the pigs, feeding the chickens, and lassoing a fearsome bull!"--

As a family prepares to move away from their farm, the daughter reflects on all the things she loves there so that when her baby brother is older she can tell him what it was like.

Jack's grandfather is always grumpy, and a bit scary, too, but during a visit to the country house where "Grumpy Grandpa" lives with the brave Aunt Ellie and Uncle Wilbur, Jack learns that his grandfather was once very different.

Philippa Pheasant frequently crosses Old Oak Road and, just as frequently, she is "nearly knocked pancake-flat" by a fast-moving vehicle. Her letter asking the village mayor for help brings no reply. But the sight of a crossing guard helping children cross the road to school inspires Philippa, who makes herself a similar uniform and a sign and then helps grateful animals cross Old Oak Road safely. The news travels swiftly, and the mayor's cat, Darling...