Christopher Paul Curtis

The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.

When his poor sharecropper father is killed in an accident and leaves the family in debt, twelve-year-old Little Charlie agrees to accompany fearsome plantation overseer Cap'n Buck north in pursuit of people who have stolen from him; Cap'n Buck tells Little Charlie that his father's debt will be cleared when the fugitives are captured, which seems like a good deal until Little Charlie comes face-to-face with the people he is chasing.

Flint Future Detective Club members Steven Carter and his friends Russell and Richelle follow Russell's dog, Rodney Rodent, into a mural to chase a demonic-looking gnome, only to find the mysterious Mr. Chickee on the other side.

Kids. They think they got it so rough these days. But nobody has it worse than Papa Red did when he was a kid. And you better listen up when he talks. A short story from the acclaimed collection Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka.

A sus doce años, al pequeño Charlie parece habérsele acabado la suerte. Su padre, un aparcero, acaba de morir, y el capitán Buck --el hombre más temido de Mapache Triste, Carolina del Sur-- ha venido a cobrar una dueda. Charlie teme por su vida y decide llegar a un acuerdo con el capitán Buck: lo ayudará a rastrear a una banda acusada de robarle al capitán y a su jefe. No es un mal negocio para Charlie... hasta que se encuntra cara a cara...