When a rainstorm prevents Nancy and her best friend, Robert, from getting to the planetarium the night of a class field trip, she has a brilliant idea for making things better.
Nancy is delighted that the new boy in her class is from Paris and sets out to become his friend, then discovers that this Parisian is not quite as fancy as she had thought.
Nancy, who likes to use fancy words, is dismayed to be partnered with shy classmate Lionel for the school talent show until she comes up with an act perfectly suited for both of them.
Nancy is determined to make the cover of her very first book report as fancy as she can, but she spends so much time on it that she has no time to write about the book.
Preparing for picture day at school by choosing just the right outfit, Nancy wonders how she should style her hair and considers pigtails, a bun, and long ringlets before formulating a plan that has her reaching for the scissors.
Nancy, who loves to use fancy words, and her friend Bree are proud to be the best spellers in their class, but when a spelling quiz proves tougher than Nancy thought, Nancy is faced with a difficult decision.
Seeing a four-leaf clover at a show-and-share, Fancy Nancy becomes superstitious and goes overboard trying to keep track of everything that is lucky and unlucky before deciding to settle on what she truly believes.
Nancy writes a report for school about her great-grandfather, making things up so he seems less ordinary, but when she learns that Grandpa will be there to hear her read the report aloud she realizes she was dishonest.
Joining her new fifth-grade friend, Violet, for Monday reading sessions, Nancy is upset when a few Mondays go by and they are unable to see each other.
When Bree gets sick and can't join her class on a trip to see a bubble show, Nancy and her classmates decide to put on a bubble show of their own for Bree.