Inspired by the kindness of her father, Jane Addams spent her life working to improve the lives of others. Among her many accomplishments was opening and running the Hull-House, a settlement house that provided assistance to the poor in the city of Chicago.
While Tanya is visiting her grandma in the hospital, she comes up with an idea of a way to make money to buy teddy bears for hospitalized children. With the help of many others, Tanya is soon able to cheer up sick children in hospitals across the country.
Tara has an important speech to give at school. The speech is President Lyndon Johnson's speech when he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Tara is so stressed about memorizing the speech that she is impatient with her little sister, Alice, who just wants to play with her. When Alice finds out about the speech, she starts to understand Tara's behavior. In turn, Tara feels bad about how she has treated Alice. The two girls work on the speech together, and Tara promises to play with Alice after her speech.
After visiting a homeless shelter and meeting a boy named Henry who loves to read, Nakeesha decides to hold a book drive to collect books for Henry and the shelter.
It has been five years since Tony last saw his Filipino great-grandmother, Lola, and he is nervous about meeting her again. He learns to say "welcome" in Tagalog to greet her. As Tony and Lola get acquainted, they come up with a system to learn each other's language.
The Johnsons want their adopted son Carlos to know all about the customs of Mexico, the country where he was born. With family and Mexican friends, they celebrate their first Dia de los Muertos, the Day of Dead.
When Michael's parents return from Haiti, they bring him an unusual gift--e that he cannot see. They tell the puzzled Michael about the wonderful storytellers they heard in Haiti. Then Michael's father captivates him with a Haitian story about a monkey.
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.
Pepper is the new girl at school. A shared interest in music leads to a friendship with Keesha, and the two girls form a band with a couple of other friends. After performing at a basketball game, the band is falsely accused of stealing 15 basketballs. When the mystery is solved, everyone is surprised to learn that the missing basketballs were donated by the players to a community center.
In this play, Samantha's friend Jennifer always tells the truth, even when it hurts others' feelings. Samantha writes Jennifer a letter explaining her hurt feelings and suggesting other ways to be honest and kind when sharing opinions. Samantha learns that Jennifer did not realize she was hurting anyone's feelings.
