Hank, a cactus who is as prickly on the inside as he is on the outside, decides he wants a hug.

"Daniel Misumi has just moved to a new house. It's big and old and far away from his friends and his life before. AND it's haunted ... or is it? Megabat was just napping on a papaya one day when he was stuffed in a box and shipped halfway across the world. Now he's living in an old house far from home, feeling sorry for himself and accidentally scaring the people who live there. Daniel realizes it's not a ghost in his new house. It's a bat. And he...

"A girl from a faraway place begins her first day at school. She doesn't speak the language and she looks different. She just doesn't fit in. But one day, she makes an unexpected friend a squirrel! Then a rabbit joins them. Soon the girl's fuzzy woodland friends are followed by human ones and school becomes more fun!"--

When Jess, a girl who is allergic to the sun, sneaks out of her house, she discovers a magical garden made out of ice.

First year camper Kianna Drake is technically too young to be a Pony Girl at Storm Cliff Stables, but in two days she will be officially eight and she is feeling homesick and a little left out, because the other Pony Girls do not seem to care.

When Little Robot finds a creative solution to his lonliness he gets straight to work on shaping the perfect companion out of metal, and affectionately names him Little Dog.

When lonely Paloma goes to the beach and wishes that she had a sister to play with, the girl she draws in the sand comes magically alive, and at day's end her parents give her the good news of a new baby on the way.

Hedgehog wakes up needing a hug, but has trouble finding a friend who will get so close to his prickles.

Born invisible, seventeen-year-old Pie wants more from life than lurking unseen in other people's houses, but when she finally reveals herself, her mother disappears, and Pie begins to question everything she thought she knew.

"Darcy spends summer vacation playing with her energetic new kitten, Charlie. But then school starts, and Darcy joins the soccer team and is barely home. Charlie is left feeling lonely and bored, until he goes exploring and meets a new friend ..."--Page [4] of cover.