Jake's grandfather, Billy, hears the talk of birds, is eighty-eight years old, and is going to live forever. Even when Billy gets sick, Jake knows that everything will go on as always. But there's one thing Billy wants: to rebuild the sod house where he grew up. Can Jake give him this one special thing? From beloved author Patricia MacLachlan comes a poignant story about what we do for the ones we love, and how the bonds that hold us together also...

To prove that she belongs in a place where only the smartest and most useful are welcomed, twelve-year-old Yolanda learns that her survival rests on the rediscovery of a long-extinct beehive that could be the answer to everything.