Patricia MacLachlan

Teddy, a dog, leads siblings Nickel and Flora through a terrible snowstorm to shelter in a cabin, where he is flooded with memories of his deceased owner, the poet Sylvan.

When their mother goes off, leaving her two children with their grandparents, they feel as if their past has been erased until Grandfather finds a way to restore it to them

Sequel to: Skylark The stranger lurking on the Witting family's prairie farm turns out to be their long-lost grandfather, whose presence plus prodding from Sarah forces Jacob to deal with his past

Eight-year-old Cassie Witting is upset when she finds out that her mother, Sarah, is expecting a baby, but writing in the journal that belonged to her brother Caleb helps her sort out her feelings and understand that Sarah will always love her

A visiting author teaches five friends about the power of words and writing

In the year before they become the orphans known as the Boxcar children, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden live with their parents at Fair Meadow Farm, where, although times are hard, they take in a family who has been stranded in their car during a blizzard

"Nora and Ben's younger sister Birdy loves to keep secrets ... One day Birdy watches her mother spit into a tube, ready to send it off to find out more about herself ... Birdy spits into a tube, too, when no one sees her. But when the test results come back, they are a surprise. Birdy is seemingly not related to Nora and Ben's parents. But if she is adopted, how could that have happened without the children knowing?"--

Ten year-old Jake shares a special bond with his grandfather, Billy, but when Billy asks Jake to build him a sod house, Jake is not sure he wants to do it

Willa, who wants to feel extraordinary, thinks that she's in love with the father of the boy next door until she realizes that her "ordinary" true love is the boy himself

When Little Robot finds a creative solution to his lonliness he gets straight to work on shaping the perfect companion out of metal, and affectionately names him Little Dog.