Horace Splattly, a tiny ten-year-old who transforms, with the help of his sister's chemically-altered cupcakes, into the superhero Cupcaked Crusader, must vanquish an alien carpet creature while trying to end an ongoing family feud between the Splattlys and the Blattleys.

"Elin Hilderbrand revisits her...characters in this magical collection of stories. Collected in a single volume for the first time, Endless Summer ranges from fan favorites to original, never-before-seen works. In 'The Surfing Lesson,' the marriage at the heart of Beautiful Day crosses uncertain territory when Margot Carmichael encourages her husband to reunite with his ex-girlfriend. The legendary weekend of a Harvard-Yale football game in 'The Tailgate'...

When Ed attends a family reunion with many relatives who have the same name, he hopes to get his own special nickname.

A DESPERATE SEARCH: Driven by his wife's dying wish--to find their firstborn son--John Baxter sets about the search. His prayer? That Elizabeth's wish would be fulfilled before the upcoming Baxter family reunion. One strange turn follows another, but John confides in a new friend and continues to look for his son. When the answers finally come. they shake John to his core. Will he agree to walk away and keep the secret of a lifetime, or will he decide...

The Dead is one of the twentieth century's most beautiful pieces of short literature. Taking his inspiration from a family gathering held every year on the Feast of the Epiphany, Joyce pens a story about a married couple attending a Christmas-season party at the house of the husband's two elderly aunts. A shocking confession made by the husband's wife toward the end of the story showcases the power of Joyce's greatest innovation: the epiphany, that...

Franny B. Kranny refuses to cut her wild hair, despite her family's insistence, and wears a bird in her hair to a family reunion.

"At a family reunion, dozens of 'beastie' cousins spend the day running wild, playing in the creek, filling up on food, and making mischief."

Hoping to invite her long-lost mother and seven siblings to Thanksgiving dinner, Martha the talking dog enlists the help of a friend at the animal shelter and shares stories from her past.

Joe the frog wants to be on the go, but even at a family reunion he is out of luck, as everyone says they are too busy, or he is too fast, too slow, too big, or too small to go with them, until Grandma invites him to go with her on a special outing.