Straight-laced fifth grader Emily's world is turned upside down when new neighbor and free spirit Rani moves in with her dog Otto.

Under a new government program based on the saying "It takes a village to raise a child," the Baudelaire orphans are adopted by an entire town, with disastrous results.

As snowflakes slowly come down, one by one, people in the city ignore them, and only a boy and his dog think that the snowfall will amount to anything.

Free dog Johannes' job is to observe everything that happens in his urban park and report back to the park's three bison elders, but changes are afoot, including more humans, a new building, a boatload of goats, and a shocking revelation that changes his view of the world.

Thirteen-year-old Rocky, self-conscious about the braces on her leg, has her life changed by the remarkable artist who comes to her small Kansas town to design a war memorial.

"Mira lives in a gray and hopeless urban community until a muralist arrives and, along with his paints and brushes, brings color, joy, and togetherness to Mira and her neighbors"--

"Boy with dog and grandfather with beard watch holiday lights turn on in the city"--

Three guinea pigs lost in a big city try to make their way back home to the pet store, with help from some very unlikely characters.

In Bug City the bugs sleep in bedbugs, wear yellow jackets, eat French fried potato bugs, celebrate together, and help each other.

Let snow fall overnight and change the world before morning, making it "slow and delightful and white."