Twelve-year-old Maggie's stutter causes her much heartache and only her menagerie of pets, whom she can speak with fluidly, provide her comfort, but when she finds Rumpus, an abandoned snow leopard in a forest in Cornwall, their chance encounter will change their lives forer.

Ramon loses confidence in his ability to draw, but his sister gives him a new perspective on things.

Thirteen-year-old Rob, a painfully shy wallflower, receives a series of mysterious text messages challenging him to leave his comfort zone as he tries to impress new student Destry Camberwick.

"Yes, it's true--I'm a total 'fraidy mouse and the biggest worryrat. In fact I'm the complete opposite of my super-sporty and very brave friend Bruce Hyena. That's why I couldn't believe it when he dragged me off on a series of outrageous adventures to toughen me up. I had to keep reminding him that I'm not a supermouse! Or am I?"--P. [4] of cover.

Miri is eager to return to her beloved Mount Eskel after a year at the capital, but the king and queen ask her to first journey to a distant swamp and start her own miniature princess academy for three royal cousins, but once there she must solve a mystery before she can return home.

As his own self-confidence grows, seventh-grader Dunk learns to be supportive both on and off the basketball court when his friend Jared goes through a difficult time, even though Jared's failure would provide Dunk more opportunities to prove himself.

Sixteen-year-old Sophie has been frail and delicate since her premature birth, but discovers her true strength during a journey through Mexico, where the six-year-old orphan her family hopes to adopt was born, and to Guatemala, where her would-be boyfriend hopes to find his mother and plans to remain.

When second-grader Alvin Ho is invited to a birthday party given by a girl, his fear of everything causes him to dread going.

Brian's hoop dreams are in jeopardy after his dad forces him to volunteer at the local senior center. Can his new friend at the center help him work hard and make varsity?