As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.

A wise old man who visits the town dump every day moves into an abandoned train there and watches as nature gradually reclaims the polluted land.

"A story about a homeless boy and his imaginary friend that proves in unexpected ways that friends matter, whether real or imaginary"-- Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan... again. Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He's been gone for four years, but has come...

Sophie is torn between her desire to buy a beautiful toy hedgehog and her compassion for a hungry street person.

Free is excited about a local poetry contest because of its cash prize, but when he and Dyamonde befriend a classmate who is homeless and living in a shelter, they rethink what it means to be rich or poor.

Ted Hammond, the only sixth grader in his small Nebraska town's one-room schoolhouse, searches for clues to the disappearance of a homeless family. Ted Hammond loves a good mystery, and in the spring of his fifth-grade year, he's working on a big one. How can his school in the little town of Plattsford stay open next year if there are going to be only five students? Out here on the Great Plains in western Nebraska, everyone understands that if you...

Piper's life is turned upside down when her family moves into a shelter in a whole new city. She misses her house, her friends, and her privacy--and she hates being labeled the homeless girl at her new school. But while Hope House offers her new challenges, it also brings new friendships, like the girls in Firefly Girls Troop 423 and a sweet street dog named Baby. So when Baby's person goes missing, Piper knows she has to help. But helping means finding...

When Lizzie and Ben discover a homeless lady living in their neighborhood, they must reconcile their desire to help her with their mother's admonition not to talk to strangers.

"In these three novellas, Gary Paulsen explores how children can survive the most difficult circumstances through art and the love of dogs"--Provided by publisher.

A homeless bear living in a city has a hard time getting by, but when a little girl makes friends with him, his life becomes brighter.