On Saturdays, Delia and Jesse help Shoebox Sam, who teaches them about charity and love by not only repairing shoes for paying customers, but also giving poor and homeless people the dignity--and footwear--they need.

Five women from different walks of life have become close friends through their book club--enjoying one another's company even more than they enjoy the books. So when the leader of the book club unexpectedly passes away on the cusp of the Christmas season, the four remaining friends are stunned. They relied on Abby for inspiration and motivation. She was the glue that held them together, and they're sure that without her the group can't continue....

Lydia King knows what it's like to be in need, so when she joins the Teaville Moral Society, she genuinely hopes to help the town's poor. But with her father's debts increasing by the day and her mother growing sicker by the week, she wonders how long it will be until she ends up in the poor house herself. Her best chance at a financially secure future is to impress the politician courting her, and it certainly doesn't hurt that the moral society's...

Together Pa and Jelly Bean build a sidewalk pantry right next to their sidewalk library, and as they get more visitors, Jelly Bean comes up with the idea to combine the books and food so neighbors feel invited to take a meal and a good book.

Sixth-grader Emmy and her classmates start a secret community service project to help a hungry family, but soon Emmy finds herself involved in a home burglary ring operated by the family's neighbor.

Massie, hurt that friends have caught the eyes of boys she was interested in, hires actresses to pretend to be her new friends while Claire, who feels somehow responsible, makes a dramatic move to set things right.

"Emmie Echavarre is a professional faker. She has to be to survive as one of the few female employees at Nuts & Bolts, a power tool company staffed predominantly by gruff, burly men. From nine to five, Monday through Friday, she's tough as nails--the complete opposite of her easy-going real self. One thing she doesn't have to fake? Her disdain for coworker Tate Rasmussen. Tate has been hostile to her since the day they met. Emmie's friendly greetings...