Newbery Award-winning author Betsy Byars's heartwarming and timeless books about the irrepressible Blossom family are back. In this introduction to the one-of-a-kind clan, Pap, the Blossoms' grandfather, has landed himself in jail for disturbing the peace. Even though Junior is laid up in the hospital with two broken legs after jumping off the barn roof to test his new homemade wings, he and his sister and brother, Maggie and Vern, have come up with...

"Raymie Clarke has a plan. Two days ago, her father left home with a dental hygienist. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and Beverly Tapinski, who's determined to sabotage...

In ten years, Jessie will be twenty-seven-but her sister Helen will always be eighteen. Jessie's not ready to move on. Everyone says she's doing great, but she is drowning in grief and hiding it with her characteristic wisecracks. Why tell anyone? It's not like it will bring Helen back. Jessie can see that her whole family is barely treading water: Her brother Lucas has completely shut down, and her parents are just going through the motions of life....

When Angel's self-absorbed mother leaves her and her younger brother with their poor great-grandmother, the eleven-year-old girl worries not only about her mother and brother, her imprisoned father, the frail old woman, but also about a mysterious man who begins sharing with her the wonder of the stars.