Emily Arnold McCully

Describes in poetic form a family with a brown-skinned mother, light-skinned father, two children, and their various relatives.

During a trip to the country, curiosity and excitement get Violet, the little white cat, into all kinds of trouble, much to the dismay of Alice's uncle.

Stories include: Splat the Cat; Picnic; Hondo & Fabian; and Leo the Late Bloomer.

"Giggle, giggle, quack": Farmer Brown goes on vacation, leaving his brother Bob in charge, but Duck has changed the care instructions for the animals. "The most wonderful egg in the world": Several animals have very beautiful features, but whoever lays the most wonderful egg will be crowned princess. "Wings: A tale of two chickens": Winnie unknowingly goes for a balloon ride with a sly fox. Can Winnie's sensible friend Harriet rescue Winnie before...

A puppy who wants to help around the farm like all the other animals eventually learns exactly what his job is.

Ellen Prentiss's papa said she was born with saltwater in her veins, so he gave her sailing lessons and taught her how to navigate. As soon as she met a man who loved sailing like she did, she married him. When her husband was given command of a clipper ship custom-made to travel quickly, she knew that they would need every bit of its speed for their maiden voyage: out of New York City, down around the tip of Cape Horn, and into San Francisco, where...