No-nonsense Captain Swashby is used to the sea meeting all of his needs and when, after his retirement, new neighbors disturb his solitary life, the sea helps in just the right way.

As they look forward to the New York City Marathon in which their friend Mr. B. will run, the Vanderbeeker children learn that one of their good friends is homeless.

Mr. Putter and Tabby go to their neighbor's house to make soup, but Zeke the dog makes it very difficult for them.

Best friends Ivy and Bean learn that being very good, or very bad, can be a real challenge when they set out to become like a man Ivy heard about who was so pure of heart that birds and animals followed him.

After Mercy the pig snuggles to sleep with the Watsons, all three awaken with the bed teetering on the edge of a big hole in the floor.

"When catastrophe strikes their beloved upstairs neighbors, the Vanderbeeker children set out to build the best, most magical healing garden in Harlem--in spite of a locked fence, thistles and trash, and the conflicting plans of a wealthy real estate developer"-- After disaster strikes their upstairs neighbors, the Vanderbeeker children decide to help and turn an abandoned lot into a Harlem community healing garden.

Twelve-year old Joy dreams of writing music for the movies, but first she has to survive her family's move into a small apartment when her father loses his job.

During a big snow, Mr. Putter decides to write a mystery novel, but what he ends up with is entirely different.

A grumpy goblin hates having unicorns as neighbors, but when dragons threaten his home and the unicorns come to the rescue, he has to admit that maybe unicorns are not so bad after all.

As young rabbit siblings excitedly share the news that rats have moved into their building, worried neighbors inform them that rats are dirty, thieving, and destructive--but are they?