"Vivy Cohen wants to play baseball. Ever since her hero, Major League star pitcher VJ Capello, taught her how to throw a knuckleball at a family fun day for kids with autism, she's been perfecting her pitch. And now she knows she's ready to play on a real team. When her social skills teacher makes her write a letter to someone she knows, she writes to VJ and tells him everything about how much she wants to pitch, and how her mom says she can't because...

Stubby, a timid squid, and Razor Clam become pen pals, exchanging fanciful tales of their courageous acts, but when they meet, Stubby's brave imaginings are put to the test.

When pen pals - and polar opposites - Connie and Nic prepare to meet for the first time at the end-of-year festival, they are in for quite a shock but find that nothing can get in the way of true friendship.

As letters flow back and forth--between the prairies of Illinois and the mountains of Afghanistan, across cultural and religious divides--sixth-grader Abby, ten-year-old Amira, and eleven-year-old Sadeed begin to speak and listen to each other.

"Tony Baloney and his school are celebrating pen pal month! Big Sister Baloney says her pen pal is always a friend for life. Tony Baloney hopes his pen pal will be a friend for life, too!"--Page [4] of cover.

Arthur views his little sister in a different light after receiving a revealing letter from his pen pal.

"For an entire school year, Oscar the ant and Bill the octopus send letters to each other as part of a class project. Oscar loves table tennis and Bill loves modeling clay. Oscar does judo, while Bill has a garden. Despite their differences, the two new friends find shared interests...all leading up to one final surprise!"--Jacket flap.

In 1935, ten-year-old Alex Maki of Bainbridge Island, Washington, is horrified to discover that his new pen pal, Charlie Lévy of Paris, France, is a girl, but in spite of his initial reluctance, their letters continue over the years and they fight for their friendship even as Charlie endures the Nazi occupation and Alex leaves his family in an internment camp and joins the Army.