Iris thought that having a baby sister would be just like playing with a doll. But newborn Baby Rose is a crabby cake. She fusses and cries and wails so much that Iris decides she needs a new baby sister. But with a little help from her family and her best friend, Walter--and with the passage of time--Iris discovers that being a big sister can be fun . . . some of the time!

Iris thought that having a baby sister would be just like playing with a doll. But newborn Baby Rose is a crabby cake. She fusses and cries and wails so much that Iris decides she needs a newbaby sister.

Walter is so excited that his favorite cousin, Howie, is coming to visit. He is sure that Iris will like Howie as much as he does. But nine year-old Howie has other plans . . . and none of them include Iris.

When best friends Iris and Walter go on a field trip to an aquarium, Walter gets lost and a worried Iris helps Miss Cherry look for him.

At Walter's birthday party his guests are supposed to go for horseback rides, but his horse Rain has other plans on the day of the party.

Certain that she is really a male trapped in a female body, Mary Ward pursues this elusive identity, much to the consternation of her mother, her brother, and a neighbor's son.

Iris is devastated when she has to miss her first school play when she is sick.