Jenna has beautiful black hair that everyone admires, especially her best friend Katy. Jenna's perspective changes when she gets cancer and loses her hair during the treatments. Her friendship with Katy remains firm, but she feels like a different person and worries about how others will treat her. This story allows readers to understand the feelings that a child with cancer may have.
Flory's mom married Joe a few months ago, so now Flory has a new little brother and a new house in a different town. Flory has trouble adjusting to the changes. Flory doesn't like the idea that her mother and Joe decide everything without asking her first. Flory finally talks to mother about this, and Mom says she will remember to talk things over with Flory.
Highlights presents Beach Blues written by Marcie Aboff. When David visits his grandma, he enjoys going to the beach. Grandma has fond memories of a particular beach, and although David prefers another beach, he empathizes with her when they learn that the welcome center at her favorite beach will be torn down to make room for condos.
Russell's favorite place is art class, and his favorite activity is drawing. His art teacher, Ms. Perez, helps and encourages him to explore his talents. Russell even incorporates his artwork into his other school assignments. Russell is overjoyed when one of his pieces of art is published in a children's magazine.
Ming Lee runs a fix-it shop. Philip loves to visit his Uncle Ming's shop. As Philip grows up, he sees the changes that take place in the town. When Philip is in college, he finds out that Uncle Ming's shop is not doing too well. Philip suggests that Uncle Ming start fixing computers, and he starts teaching Uncle Ming about computers and their parts. Uncle Ming even takes classes at a computer school. Now Uncle Ming is expanding his business and hiring a helper.
