That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me. She meant to bestow a gift. When I cried inconsolably through my first hour of life, my tears were her inspiration. Shaking her head sympathetically at Mother, the fairy touched my nose. 'My gift is obedience. Ella will always be obedient. Now stop crying, child.' I stopped. So begins this richly entertaining story of Ella of Frell, who wants nothing more than to be free of Lucinda's...

A lion starts visiting the local library but runs into trouble as he tries to both obey the rules and help his librarian friend.

When his best friend drowns while they are both swimming in a treacherous river that they had promised never to go near, Joel is devastated and terrified at having to tell both sets of parents the terrible consequences of their disobedience.

In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.

After years of watching his children and grandchildren wander from their faith, Iddo's prayers are answered: King Cyrus is allowing God's chosen people to return to Jerusalem. Jubilant, he prepares for their departure only to learn that his family, grown comfortable in the pagan culture of Babylon, wants to remain. Zechariah, Iddo's oldest grandson, feels torn between his grandfather's beliefs and his father's life in Babylon. But he soon begins to...

RJ, who hates the word "no", learns to come to terms with it when he joins his class's "Say Yes to No" club.

When a new neighbor moves in next door, Ernest's mother, who always insists that he obey all the rules, encourages them to play together every day.

Little Billy enters the Forest of Sin and meets the Minpins, matchstick-sized people who live in tree cities besieged by the Smoke-Belching Gruncher whom Billy vows to destroy.

Sorrel Fallowfield, a model student, finds a packet of seeds under a diseased tree and unexpectedly feels compelled to plant them in unexpected places, but when the plantings result in changes in the mindset of her friends and their parents, Sorrel trieseverything she can to undo the damage.

Ezra and his friends, who include the son of the prophet Isaiah and the son of King Ahaz, learn firsthand the terrible consequences of forsaking the Lord and following false Gods.