Katie's school assignment is to write an "opinion piece", but she needs some guidance on just what that is, and what is should not be.

Combines four previously published stories, including Katie in the kitchen, Katie saves the Earth, Katie's lucky birthday, and Katie's new shoes, in which Katie does her best to be considerate and helpful.

When twelve-year-old Waka's parents suspect she can't understand basic Japanese they speak to her, they make the drastic decision to send her to Tokyo to live for several months with her strict grandmother. Forced to say goodbye to her friends and what would have been her summer vacation, Waka is plucked from her straight-A-student life in rural Kansas and flown across the globe, where she faces the culture shock of a lifetime. In Japan, Waka struggles...

"When Katie's mom starts to feel under the weather, it's up to the spunky schoolgirl to help her get better. And with Mother's Day coming, Katie wants to get a super-special gift for her super-special mom. But sometimes the best gift isn't a thing you can buy or make . . . it's being a kind and thoughtful daughter!" --

When her class celebrates Valentine's Day, Katie does not get a valentine from anyone.

"To save the Clarktown Community Center, which houses her parents' Chinese school, Lily and her fellow students must master a traditional Chinese dance in time for the center's first showcase and receive some unexpected help from her rival, Max Zhang"-- If there's one thing Lily Hong can't stand, it's being second best. That's why she and Max Zhang have been bitter rivals ever since he swooped into town as the new kid with the cool clothes and his...

Katie's dad surprises her with a trip to a ranch where she can ride a real horse.

In 1952 eleven-year-old Azalea is sent to Paris Junction, Arkansas, to help out her grandmother who has injured her foot, but does not really seem to want her help; Billy Wong, a Chinese-American boy whose uncle owns the local grocery store, in town to attend the "white" school since the Chinese mission school has closed, is frustrated by the overt prejudice of the local children. Over the summer the two begin to forge a friendship.

When Katie's parents take her to the library one rainy Saturday, she finds a lot of her friends and, with the help of librarian Miss Bliss, takes home some "super-duper" books. Includes glossary, discussion questions, and an interview.

Katie finds a sick kitten, and when her father comes home they take the kitty to Dr. Wong's veterinarian clinic, where they find all different kinds of pets waiting for the doctor's attention.