"Most kids have dogs and cats and fish and guinea pigs. Penelope Rex has Mittens. Penelope wasn’t sure she even wanted a pet when Mittens came into her life. But now that he’s here, she is determined to make the best of it. Pets, however—especially ones that are six hundred pounds with six-inch-long teeth—can cause very big, very messy problems."--

Zeus the hamster and his cohorts escape their cages at Mount Olympus Pet Center in Athens, Georgia, to solve the mystery of the labyrinth--the center's duct system.

"Laura Ingalls and her dog, Jack, have been together for as long as she can remember--and he's no ordinary dog. He travels with Laura and her pioneer family all the way from the Big Woods of Wisconsin to the West. He protects them from wolves, cattle that go astray, and sometimes even a friendly neighbor. And he can always help Laura find her way home"--Back cover.

After guardian dog Gus is injured defending his flock of sheep, he is sent to recuperate and heal with a young boy, Diego, whom Gus finds he can help by learning how to work as an emotional support animal.

When Zoe helps out at Aunt Jo's animal rescue, she's caught up in an emergency right away. Three tiny puppies have been abandoned on the doorstep and need nursing back to help, especially the littlest puppy, Cookie. Zoe knows she can't have a dog of her own, but as the days go by, she becomes more and more attached to the puppies, and she loves Cookie the most. How will she cope when it's time for Cookie to be adopted? --from Amazon.

When Callie's little brother Travis brings home an abandoned baby squirrel and names him Fluffy, Mother isn't so sure that Fluffy will make a good family pet, and neither is Thud, the cat. Can Fluffy find a home in the Tate household?

Marvin is pleased when his teacher asks him to take care of her dog while she's away, but he soon finds that there's more pressure involved than he likes.

"Helena loves helping out at the animal hospital where her cousin Lucy works. One day, the girls find a young cat who's been injured by a car. Helena helps to care for the cat she names Caramel, but when it's time for him to go home, Caramel's owner can't be found. Caramel doesn't want to be kept at the animal hospital, and he especially doesn't like the scratchy cast on his leg. But if no one comes forward to claim him, how will he ever have a place...

"A child in Brazil experiences the beauty and wonder of the natural world, and comes to understand his role within it. Francisco's grandmother has a surprise for him. In her backyard is a guava tree, and in the tree hangs a cage containing two magnificent green birds. They are parakeets, his grandmother says. Francisco has never seen birds so green, so beautiful. He imagines them sitting on his hand, or murmuring in his ear as he scratches the backs...