All day, Baby Dragon turns down other animals' offers to go play or find a snack while he waits for his mother to return for him, but at nightfall, he agrees to go with Crocodile to find her.

That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me. She meant to bestow a gift. When I cried inconsolably through my first hour of life, my tears were her inspiration. Shaking her head sympathetically at Mother, the fairy touched my nose. 'My gift is obedience. Ella will always be obedient. Now stop crying, child.' I stopped. So begins this richly entertaining story of Ella of Frell, who wants nothing more than to be free of Lucinda's...

"From her first day as Personal Assistant to the celebrated Mina Appleton, Christine Butcher understands what is expected of her. Absolute loyalty. Absolute discretion. For twenty years, Christine has been a most devoted servant, a silent witness to everything in Mina's life. So quiet, you would hardly know she is there. Day after day, year after year, Christine has been there, invisible--watching, listening, absorbing all the secrets floating around...

"After years in exile, Iddo and his grandson Zechariah follow God's leading home to Jerusalem, where they struggle to rebuild their lives and God's temple--bringing to life the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah"--

Jordan Dungy learns an important lesson about obedience when he ignores his parents' warning to stay together at a sporting event, and wanders off, only to become lost.

When Mr. Portly finds a kitten, he and his wife raise her like a child, but unlike a typical child, Minifred the kitten does not like to follow rules at home or at school.

When Joshua, a baby whale, disobeys his mother and swims too close to shore to visit with a friendly human boy, he becomes stranded on the beach. Includes factual information about whales in a separate section in the back of the book.

As Quackery and his brother Zackery get bigger, they begin to question whether their parents always know what is best.

Shows readers the steps to the fundamental social skills of accepting "no" and disagreeing appropriately. When RJ learns to use these skills the right way, he finds that rewards come his way, instead of arguments.

Even though his dad told him to stay home because he is sick, Otto decides that he has to enter the Ocean Shores 500 bike race.