Mo Lobeau considers herself three times lucky: her biological mother tied her to a makeshift raft during a hurricane; the Colonel happened to crash nearby the river she floated down and found her; and Miss Lana decided to take her in like she was her own. Although she has made a home with the Colonel and Miss Lana, this doesn’t stop her quest to find her Upstream Mother. She is on the sixth volume of her autobiography in which she tries to piece together the story of her life before coming to Tupelo Landing and has members of this small town drop messages in bottles further upstream so they  travel down the river.

Now it’s summer. When Mo and her best friend, Dale, aren’t helping out at the cafe serving up Miss Lana’s specials, they are helping Lavender, Dale’s older brother, fix up his race car and “borrowing” a grumpy neighbor’s boat for fishing. But soon a stranger shows up in Tupelo Landing, asking about a murder in Winston-Salem. His name is Detective Starr and he isn’t especially welcome. Real trouble comes when Mr. Jesse, that same cranky neighbor, is found dead in the boat that Dale returned. That’s right. Murder has arrived to this small North Carolinian town.

Dale and the Colonel quickly become suspects to the murder, but who is Mo to trust? Certainly, Dale is innocent — he was just returning the boat! Detective Starr links this murder with the one he was originally investigating but also to a bank robbery that happened eleven years earlier. The Colonel couldn’t be involved, could he? Mo and Dale decide to take matters into their own hands by forming the Desperado Detective Agency to prove who is actually guilty of killing Mr. Jesse. But things get even more out of control when the Colonel goes missing, Miss Lana is kidnapped and a doosey of a hurricane is headed their way.

Sheila Turnage writes a lyrical and heartwarming story that will please children and adults alike. THREE TIMES LUCKY is laugh-out-loud funny, and its hilarity lies in the details: Miss Lana enjoys creating theme nights for their cafe that are silly enough for kids to appreciate, but the themes nights also uses references that are recognizable to adults. Similarly, this small town is filled with larger-than-life personalities, which makes the story seem light and fanciful, while it is also filled with tough issues to tackle. The plot is driven by a murder investigation, Dale’s father is abusive and the reader witnesses him hitting his wife, and Mo faces the real fear that Miss Lana’s life is on the line, while her biological mother remains unknown.

When Emma sister turns up missing, their family relocates to a trailer part near a forest full of crags.  Here she meets a Jack the One-Eyed talking cat.  Jack swears he can help Emma find her sister, but in order to do so, she must eat a Pride’s Heart, transforming herself into a leader of cats. Together, along with her pride, they embark on a quest into the dangerous, dark forest, filled with evil creatures, to rescue Emma’s sister or die trying.

Number the Stars is told from the point of view of ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen. The story is set in the city of Copenhagen, Denmark in September 1943, the third year of the Nazi occupation of Denmark. Annemarie and her best friend Ellen, who is Jewish, are stopped by soldiers on their way home from school. The two girls, who go to the same school and live in the same building, are unsettled by their first direct encounter with the Germans. Mrs. Johansen and Mrs. Rosen are concerned and ask the girls to take a new route to school. The encounter makes Annemarie reflect on what her father has taught her about Denmark and also about her older sister Lise’s death a few years before the start of the novel. Later in the fall, Annemarie and her younger sister Kirsti discover that Mrs. Hirsch’s neighborhood shop has been closed. This event further alarms Mrs. Johansen, though Annemarie does not understand why.

During a late night visit from Peter Neilsen, a member of the Resistance and the man Lise was to marry, Annemarie is told more about the war. Her parents and Peter explain that Jewish stores are being closed. The next day, the Rosens must flee. They leave Ellen with the Johansens. During the night, German soldiers come to the apartment demanding that Mr. Johansen disclose the location of his friends. He refuses and they search the apartment. Ellen pretends to be one of the Johansen’s daughters, but her dark hair causes the solider to be suspicious. Luckily, Mr. Johansen is able to show them a baby picture of Lise with dark hair, which convinces the soldiers.

The next day, Mrs. Johansen takes the three girls to her brother Henrik’s home in Gilleleje, Denmark, where Henrik is a fisherman. They spend a peaceful day in the house by the ocean before Henrik announces that their Great-aunt Birte has died. The service is to be held that evening. Annemarie knows that no such aunt exists, and demands the truth. Uncle Henrik explains the importance of not knowing too much when bravery is needed. That night the coffin arrives and they gather around it. Many more people arrive, but all are silent. Soon Peter appears with the Rosens, who are reunited with Ellen. Soldiers, drawn by the post-curfew lights, come to the house. They demand that the coffin be opened, a problem since the coffin is empty. Mrs. Johansen thinks quickly and says that her aunt died. The soldiers leave.

Henrik takes the first group of people down to his boat. Mrs. Johansen follows with the Rosens. Annemarie, who now understands that the people are being taken to safety in Sweden, awaits her mother’s safe return. When her mother does not appear, she discovers that Mrs. Johansen has broken her ankle. Because of this, Annemarie must take an important package to her uncle before they can leave. On the way to the boat, soldiers with dogs stop her. They search her basket and discover the package. But when they rip it open it contains only a handkerchief, and they let her go. Annemarie makes it to the boat in time, to Henrik’s evident relief.

That evening, Henrik is safe at home having dinner with Annemarie, Kirsti, and Mrs. Johansen, whose ankle has been taken care of by the local doctor. After dinner, Uncle Henrik takes Annemarie to learn how to milk the cow. They talk about the events of the day. He explains that he hid his passengers in the bottom of the boat, and the handkerchief was essential because it kept the Germans’ dogs from smelling the human cargo. Uncle Henrik praises Annemarie for her bravery and reassures her that Ellen is safe and they will meet again someday.

The war ends in May, and Annemarie and her family watch from their balcony as people parade in the streets with the Danish flag. Annemarie thinks of the Rosens and realizes that they, along with all the others who were forced to flee, will soon be returning home. Peter Nielsen has died. He was shot in a public square for his involvement in the Resistance. Annemarie’s parents tell her that Lise was a member of the Resistance, too, and that she did not die in an accident, but was killed by the Germans. Thinking of Lise and of Ellen, Annemarie goes to the trunk of Lise’s things in her room and takes out the Star of David pendant that she has been keeping for Ellen. She says she will wear the necklace herself until Ellen returns.

Ben is half deaf. His mother has died and he feels all alone, even though he is living at his aunt’s house. One stormy night, he sneaks out . . . and eighty three steps away is his house. The one he and his mother shared before the funeral.

There he finds a book called Wonder Struck with red ink inside the front cover. It reads for Danny, Love M. Ben also finds a book mark with a phone number on it and he wonders if it might be a link to his long lost dad, who he never knew.

Ben calls the number as the storm rages outside, just as lightning hits the house and strikes Ben to the ground.

He wakes up in hospital with the realisation that he is now deaf in both ears. As he recovers, Ben wonders about the history of his dad and so he escapes and travels to New York where he meets a faithful friend called Jamie. Jamie’s dad works at the American Museum of Natural History – and this is where Ben discover some amazing links to his dad.

Rose is deaf and lives with her father and mother, movie star Lillian Mayhew. Life is sad for Rose because she never gets to see her mum and she’s locked in her house, unable to lead a normal life.

Like Ben, she too runs away to New York where she meets an old friend at the Museum of Natural History. His name is Walter and he takes Rose to his house and takes care of her.

When Ben’s and Rose’s stories meet, it ends in the least imaginable way possible.