A mischievous boy growing up in a Mississippi River town in the 19th century impresses his friends and horrifies adults by associating with the son of the town drunk, running away from home, attending his own funeral, etc.

Desperate to escape his abusive father and the constraints of the civilized life, young Huck Finn fakes his death and, with the help of his slave friend Jim, embarks on a vagabond life rafting down the Mississippi River. Yet life is anything but carefree for Huck and Jim. Their travels bring them into contact with scores of rogues, rascals, ruffians, hucksters, and law-abiding citizens who would as soon seen Jim returned to his owners and Huck to...

Four determined homeless children make a life for themselves in Chennai, India.

"In the dead of night, a truck arrives in Slaughterville, a small town curiously named after its windowless slaughterhouse. Seven mysterious kids with suitcases step out of the vehicle and into an abandoned home on a dead-end street, looking over their shoulders to make sure they aren't noticed. When timid and lonely Ravani Foster covertly witnesses their arrival from his bedroom window, he is eager to learn everything he can about his new neighbors:...

The journey begins on a ship at sea in 1766, with a boy named Billy Marvel. After surviving a shipwreck, he finds work in a London theatre. There, his family flourishes for generations as brilliant actors until 1900, when young Leontes Marvel is banished from the stage. Nearly a century later, Joseph Jervis runs away from school and seeks refuge with a reclusive uncle in London. Albert Nightingale's strange, beautiful house, with its mysterious portraits...

Jason has just learned that his Afghan mother has been living illegally in the United States since his father was killed in Afghanistan. Although Jason was born in the US, it's hard to feel American now when he's terrified that his mother will be discovered -- and that they will be separated. When he sees his mother being escorted from her workplace by two officers, Jason feels completely alone. He boards a train with the hope of finding his aunt...

"Nikki can't wait to leave Texas and follow her dreams of a music career... After a painful betrayal by her sister and a heated argument with their mother, Nikki is kicked out and finds herself homeless. She decides to go to California to pursue her singing career. When her best friend, Malachai, discovers her plan to flee Texas, he begs her to spend the remainder of spring break with him. He believes that over the course of a week, he can convince...

Barnaby Brocket, an eight year old, was born floating. He defies gravity, which is a horror to his parents who do not like attention. One day Barnaby gets away and floats into the sky, traveling the world and even into outer-space, to find who he really is.

In 1942, when life turns sour at the carnival that has always been her home, eleven-year-old Bee takes her dog, Peabody, and piglet, Cordelia, and sets out to find a real home, aided by two women only Bee and her pets can see.

Twelve-year-old Lizzy Sherman believes there are signs everywhere that can help her keep her family safe, so when she begins helping a runaway girl her own age--a stranger to their small town in Maine--Lizzy hopes that she, too, can protect Lizzy's family.