When Little Red Chicken comes home excited about what she learned in school, she explains to Papa that every story has "an elephant of surprise."

Each of five children lucky enough to discover an entry ticket into Mr. Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory takes advantage of the situation in his own way.

"When Rosie Revere's Uncle Ned gets a little carried away wearing his famous helium pants, it's up to Ada and friends to chase him down. As Uncle Ned floats farther and farther away, Ada starts asking lots of questions: How high can a balloon float? Is itpossible for Uncle Ned to float into outer space? And what's the best plan for getting him down?"--

"A whimsical guide to training a "pet truck" instructs young enthusiasts on how to identify the most compatible truck for one's personality and how to use orange cone lures to secure a loyal vehicle."--

From eating too much chocolate, Henry breaks out in brown bumps that help him foil some hijackers and teach him a valuable lesson about self-indulgence.

A guide to the care and maintenance of mothers, who are, according to the manual, "the most advanced human models on the planet."

Andrew wants freckles so badly that he buys Sharon's freckle recipe for fifty cents. Nicky has freckles -- they cover his face, his ears, and the whole back of his neck. Sitting behind him in class, Andrew once counted eighty-six of them, and that was just a start! If Andrew had freckles like Nicky, his mother would never know if his neck was dirty. One day after school, Andrew works up enough courage to ask Nicky where he got his freckles. When know-it-all...

The very literal minded Amelia Bedelia becomes a substitute teacher for a day.

"More than 100 funny new poems from Jack Prelutsky, the nation's first children's poet laureate, in a wide array of poetic forms, from haiku to concrete poems and everything in between, and hilariously illustrated in black-and-white on every page"--

Collects a series of humorous short stories that explore the things kids think about, from what trees talk about to lies their mother tells them.