Jeremy, who longs to have the black high tops that everyone at school seems to have but his grandmother cannot afford, is excited when he sees them for sale in a thrift shop and decides to buy them even though they are the wrong size.

Despite their own poverty since Daddy died, Mama tells nine-year-old James Otis they need to help Sarah, whose family lost everything in a fire.

"Once upon a time there was a ship that sailed beside the sun with very important people on board. The spirit of reinvention--and the importance we place on things--is beautifully expressed in Jose Sanabria's visually evocative story. A steamship makes a journey across time from luxury and exclusivity, industry and abandonment, to stewardship and inclusion as we see the evolving functions of the ship and the changing faces of the people who cherish...

"Kim's mum is tough. Everyone says so. She can deal with unruly customers at the Red Rooster with a snap of her fingers. Kim is tough, too. She doesn't need to wear a hat to keep her ears warm. And she can make soup all by herself, even without the stove. But Kim is learning that sometimes toughness doesn't look like what you'd expect"--