Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident.

Quirky fourth-grader Oggie Cooder goes from being shunned to everyone's best friend when his uncanny ability to chew slices of cheese into the shapes of states wins him a slot on a popular television talent show, but he soon learns the perils of being a celebrity--and having a neighbor girl as his manager.

McQuarrie Middle School's students miss Origami Yoda when Dwight leaves for Tippett Academy, but he sends Sara a paper Fortune Wookiee that seems to give advice just as good as Yoda's--even if, in the hands of girls, it seems preoccupied with romance.

For years twelve-year-old CeeCee Honeycutt has been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille, a woman trapped in her long-ago moment of glory as the 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen. When Camille is killed by a truck, CeeCee's previously unknown great-aunt, Tootie Caldwell, whisks CeeCee away to Savannah, a world seemingly run entirely by women. These exotic women keep CeeCee enthralled for an entire summer.

The husband of Monk's former assistant, Sharona, has been arrested for murder. Sharona, now back in San Francisco, is ready to reclaim her place in Monk's life-much to the chagrin of his current assistant, Natalie. While Monk tries to maintain a delicate balance between the two women, he discovers a few unsettling snags in the case against Sharona's husband and may be up against a killer who not only understands him but is one step ahead.

"Mr. Lemoncello holds a contest for his young friends where they must race to bring interesting facts back to his library"--

Captain Leland Stottlemayer is faced with budget cuts and trims Monk's services as an expense. Though he insists it's nothing personal, when Monk's offers to help for no charge are declined, he and Natalie suspect otherwise. But Monk is too compulsive to stop investigating. So when Stottlemayer is arrested for the killing of another cop with overwhelming evidence against him, he must turn to the only detective who can prove his innocence.

"Eleven-year-old Brian's summer turns out a lot less boring than expected when he encounters a huge, wacky house in the forest and befriends the eccentric family that lives there"--

When Bizzy, an admittedly strange bird, meets Dill, a self-professed ordinary duck, it is the start of a most unusual friendship.