Rebecca Rubin, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants living in New York in 1914, does not know what to do when her teacher assigns the class to make Christmas decorations which she is sure will upset her family, but she gets some good advice from an unexpected place.

In 1888, Owney, a stray terrier puppy, finds a home in the Albany, New York, post office and becomes its official mascot as he rides the mail train through the Adirondacks and beyond, criss-crossing the United States, into Canada and Mexico, and eventually traveling around the world by mail boat in 132 days.

A cabin boy on a pirate ship finds himself in San Diego in 1846 as war breaks out between the United States and Mexico.

Rebecca is invited to her cousin Max's movie studio for her tenth birthday, but her parent's disapproval of actors and movies may prevent her from taking advantage of a golden opportunity.

In 1756, as a deadly comet hurtles toward London, Dr. Sabian Blake and his fourteen-year-old housemaid, Agetta, struggle against dark forces that seek an ancient, powerful book in Blake's possession that would enable them to carry out an evil plan in which Agetta unknowingly plays a pivotal role.

Trying to forget his past and live an honest life, escaped convict Jean Valjean risks his freedom to take care of a motherless young girl during a period of political unrest in Paris.

In 1901, fourteen-year-old Mable Riley dreams of being a writer and having adventures while stuck in Perth County, Ontario, assisting her sister in teaching school and secretly becoming friends with a neighbor who holds scandalous opinions on women's rights.

Oscar Westerwit, a squirrel who loves baseball and Broadway musicals, fights back when a gangster rat named Big Daddy Duds and his thugs move uptown in the year 1900, invade Central Park, and evict Oscar and his animal friends from their homes.

Homer P. Figg escapes from his wretched foster home in Pine Swamp, Maine, and sets out to find his beloved older brother, Harold, who has been illegally sold into the Union Army.

Flavia and her friends go to Rome to celebrate the Festival of Jupiter at Senator Cornix's town house, where they befriend the young charioteer, Scopas, and quickly find themselves embroiled in a campaign to sabotage one of the rival racing factions.