Her teacher smiled. "Just make a mark and see where it takes you." Art class is over, but Vashti is sitting glued to her chair in front of a blank piece of paper. The words of her teacher are a gentle invitation to express herself. But Vashti can't draw - she's no artist. To prove her point, Vashti jabs at a blank sheet of paper to make an unremarkable and angry mark. "There!" she says. That one little dot marks the beginning of Vashti's journey of...

Mabel learns to appreciate her name and, together with a good friend, finds a way to cope with critical classmates.

Zelly Fried wants a dog more than anything, so at the urging of her grandfather, during the summer before sixth grade she takes care of a "practice dog" made out of an orange juice jug to show her parents that she is ready for the responsibility, even though she is sometimes not entirely sure about the idea.

Cary denounces his abilities and wishes he could draw well, but when he actually tries to draw a story about subjects that he likes, he finds that he isn't so bad.

While on a school field trip to an orchard to make cider, a young immigrant named Farah gains self-confidence when the green apple she picks perfectly complements the other students' red apples.

When Ann worries that she is not good enough to participate in Sports Day, her teacher encourages her to try her best.

The lives of a baby jaybird, a young girl, a kitten, and a small squirrel intersect as they venture out into the world.

Teased because he likes to spend all of his time reading, the Gentleman Bug decides to change in order to catch the eye of the new Lady Bug in the garden, but she is not impressed until he goes back to being himself.

Worrying that her friends will stop liking her if she does not agree to whatever the group wants to do, Jill eventually learns the value and importance of overcoming initial discomforts in order to say no when it is necessary.

Eleven-year-old slugger Banjo "The Great Walloper" Bishbash is overcome by a nasty hitting slump as he tries to lead the Rambletown Rounders to the division baseball championship.