In order to earn money for college, fourteen-year-old LaVaughn babysits for a teenage mother.

In 1967, when his teacher loans him a copy of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," eleven-year-old Ellis Earl Brown is amazed to encounter a family worse off than his own and wonders if happy endings only come in books.

"Too Small Tola lives in an apartment with her clever sister, Moji; her big brother, Dapo; and Grandmommy, who is very bossy. In the first of three endearing new adventures, Tola is sized just right to wriggle under the bed and rescue Grandmommy's prized possession when it goes missing. Her savvy and math skills save the day when Grandmommy gets sick, and when the family can't afford new clothes, industrious Tola finds a way-with a little help from...