The dodos are leading idyllic lives on an island in the Indian Ocean. The date was AD 1650 and soon there would be no dodos anywhere at all on earth. Beatrice and Bertie are happily planning their wedding bliss and thinking of all the dodolings they would produce, unaware of the dangers lurking offshore in the anchored ship.
Mary's little brother, Billy, seems perfectly normal, until one moonlit evening Mary finds him floating above his bed. From then on, whenever the full moon rises, Billy the Bird flies up, up and away and home again!
Miss Slade is a recluse who lives in a caravan with lots of animals. A group of children befriend her and she begins to mingle again. After an accident the children's parents take her to hospital and her home is robbed with amazing results.
From the moment he's left as a foundling in a lambing-pen on Outoverdown Farm, Spider Sparrow is surrounded by animals. Adopted by the kindly shepherd and his wife, Spider comes to know all the farm creatures, including the crows he must scare away from the wheat. Every animal he meets trusts him, and Spider loves them all.
The story of a girl who tries to satisfy her yearning for a dog by introducing an imaginary Great Dane called Henry to the house. Her wish comes true and she is allowed a real Henry - but there's more than a hint that old Mrs Garrow, with her cackling laugh and black cat, may have been involved.
At the zoo, Jack steals an ostrich egg that's about to be fed to a snake, brings it home to his family's farm, and persuades a pair of geese to be its foster parents.
On that day in 1903, 14-year-old Joseph Michtom's life changed irrevocably when his parents - Russian immigrants - created the first teddy bear. No longer did the Michtom's gather family and friends around the kitchen table to talk. No longer was Joseph at leisure to play stickball with the guys.
Mags has a lot to wish for - a nice house with a mama who isn't tired out from work; a normal little sister; a brother who doesn't mooch for food; and, once in a while, she'd like some new clothes for school.
Rifka knows nothing about America when she flees from Russia with her family in 1919. But she dreams that in the new country she will at last be safe from the Russian soldiers and their harsh treatment of the Jews. Throughout her journey, Rifka carries with her a cherished volume of poetry by Alexander Pushkin.
Late at night, while her sisters and Tanta Rose sleep, Hannah Gold sees angels. She sees them soaring over the Boston streets in their shimmering robes, with eyes shining and wings outstretched. The angels inspire Hanna, for it is 1918, and her mother and father are fighting the Great War in Europe. But Boston is fighting a war of its own.
