(1)
Marcy’s Thinking Time
Marcy is introduced to the reader as a carefree little girl who loves nature.
Lesson: Life is not always fair.
Introduction to the main character as a real, believable person to whom children can relate.

(2)
Marcy Improves Herself
Marcy develops a plan to stop being late and forgetful and to learn how to listen carefully to instructions.
Lesson: We can prepare in advance in order to feel less stressed.
Empowering. Self esteem. Organization. Perseverance. Accepting responsibility.

(3)
Marcy Learns to Read
Marcy figures out ‘the reading puzzle’. She learns that words are made up of sounds and she begins to recognize smaller words in bigger words. The method is phonetic although Marcy realizes that some words must be memorized because letters can be tricky.
Lesson: Reading is fun!
Empowering. Self esteem. Learning how to read. Perseverance.

(4)
Any Age Is Just Right For Learning
Marcy learns that nobody is perfect. She also learns that experiments might have unpredictable outcomes and, when we take responsibility for projects, we have to accept responsibility for the mistakes that we sometimes make.
Lesson: It is okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them and take responsibility.
Forgiveness. Understanding. Patience. Perseverance.

(5)
Hug Me Anyway
Marcy deals with a) jealousy regarding the attention received by her younger sister and b) her insecurity about growing up and not being ‘the baby’ anymore. Mom realizes that Marcy needs reassurance.
Lesson: Poor behavior at home often represents fear that can be easily handled once addressed.
Poor behavior. Limit setting. Understanding. Compassion.

(6)
Breakfast With Marcy
Marcy learns to focus attention on one task at a time. She also deals with a bully who makes fun of her for getting a morning hug from her mom. With the help of a friend, Marcy confronts the bully. The reader understands that the bully is a person who is simply sad inside.
Lesson: Don’t add to another person’s troubles.
Empowering. Self esteem. Coping with bullies. Poor behavior. Friendship. Personal courage. Peer pressure. Forgiveness. Compassion.

(7)
Lunchtime
Marcy realizes that she has to take responsibility for her toys.
Lesson: We don’t always get what we want.
Oftentimes, there are some very good reasons why.
Empowering. Personal courage. Peer pressure. Understanding. Patience. Accepting responsibility.

(8)
Marcy Needs Advice
A bully pretends to be defending her own younger sister against Marcy. Marcy learns that, no matter what anyone says about you, if you choose the proper behavior most of the time, even a bully can’t get you into trouble.
A good friend helps Marcy to be strong and cheer up.
Lesson: Reputation is important to protect ourselves from troublemakers.
Empowering. Self esteem. Coping with bullies. Poor behavior. Friendship. Personal courage. Peer pressure. Perseverance.

(9)
Marcy Sets Things Straight
Marcy learns that she has to do her best even when classmates do not do their best.
She also learns to take responsibility for her actions.
Lesson: It is better to set proper examples for others rather than follow poor examples set by them.
Empowering. Self esteem. Poor behavior. Friendship. Personal courage. Peer pressure. Forgiveness. Understanding. Compassion. Patience. Perseverance. Accepting responsibility.

(10)
Marcy Takes Charge
Marcy learns to appreciate her mom and dad.
Lesson: Being a kid is not so bad after all.
Empowering. Self esteem. Forgiveness. Understanding. Compassion. Patience. Perseverance. Accepting responsibility.

(11)
Special New Friend
Marcy stands up to bullies and helps a new boy in class to learn the rules of his new school.
Lesson: It is personally rewarding to be a good friend.
Empowering. Self esteem. Coping with bullies. Poor behavior. Friendship. Personal courage. Peer pressure. Understanding. Compassion.

(12)
Marcy Changes Her Attitude
Marcy learns that she has control over her own attitude.
Lesson: We have the power to change our own attitudes from negative to positive.
Empowering. Self esteem. Accepting responsibility.

(13)
Picking the Right Behavior
Marcy and Niki help a boy (the class clown) to understand that part of their job as students is to pick the right time and place for all behaviors. We sing in chorus, shout at baseball games, read quietly in libraries and jump and play in gym. Each of these behaviors has a proper place and time. The only ‘wrong’ behavior is one that hurts another. Otherwise, there are only wrong choices of behaviors in given situations.
Lesson: The choice of time and place defines each behavior as
appropriate or inappropriate.
Empowering. Self esteem. Poor behavior. Friendship. Personal courage. Understanding. Patience. Perseverance. Accepting responsibility.

(14)
Another Side of Greg
Greg struggles with mixed feelings about his parents’ divorce. Issues related to his new baby half brother (his dad’s new son) are explored and handled between Greg and his mom.
Life goes on and Greg meets Marcy to play in the park.
Lesson: We are each very special, and will always be, to both of our parents.
Friendship. Forgiveness. Understanding. Compassion. Patience.

(15)
The Assignment
Marcy reveals that when she was younger, she was confused and unhappy. We also learn that Marcy has two good friends: Niki and Greg.
These two friends help her practice for her presentation.
Lessons: Talking to an adult we trust can help us when we are sad.
Good friends are important.
Empowering. Self esteem. Coping with bullies. Poor behavior. Friendship. Personal courage. Understanding. Compassion. Patience. Perseverance. Accepting responsibility.

(16)
The Planet Q
It is important to handle disappointment and unhappiness before it becomes nastiness.
Lesson: Nastiness is really sadness wearing a disguise.
Empowering. Self esteem. Friendship. Personal courage. Understanding. Compassion. Patience. Perseverance. Accepting responsibility.

(17)
Marcy Learns First Thing’s First
Marcy learns the trick to not getting overloaded by her messy bedroom.
Lesson: We each have the power to decide what to do first in our effort to accomplish anything.
Empowering. Self esteem. Organization. Personal courage. Understanding. Patience. Perseverance. Accepting responsibility.

(18)
Greg Discovers the Truth About Brian
Greg needs help from Marcy who is now empowered and able to stand up to any bully.
Lessons: There is great value in sharing feelings with a trusted adult.
We are never too old for good feelings and sharing.
The older we get, the more important these things become.
Empowering. Self esteem. Coping with bullies. Poor behavior. Friendship. Personal courage. Peer pressure. Forgiveness. Understanding. Compassion. Patience. Perseverance. Accepting responsibility.

(19)
A Bit Too Far
Brian, the main class clown, tries to tease the teacher and disrupt the class. This lighthearted story uses humor to drive home the point that idiomatic expressions exist and can be confusing to people who never heard them before. This story encourages the reader to sharpen listening skills in an effort to figure out whether a word is by itself or whether it takes on a different meaning because it is incorporated into a group.
Lesson (literal): Words might mean one thing when on their own, but another when in a group.
Lesson (figurative): We need to choose our friends wisely so that WE are not misunderstood because of the friends around us.
Coping with bullies. Poor behavior.

(20)
Worries About Friendship
Marcy learns the difference between givers, sharers, and takers.
She learns that even close friends need their own space.
Lesson: True friendship is not damaged by time or distance; it can, in fact, be enhanced.
Empowering. Self esteem. Poor behavior. Friendship. Personal courage. Peer pressure. Understanding. Patience. Perseverance. Accepting responsibility.

(21)
I Know You’re There For Me
People don’t always react or respond the way we expect. If the person is someone we love, we need to ask questions to understand what is in the mind of that person.
Friendship, caring, encouragement and sharing are exemplified.
Lesson: Nobody knows everything.
Everybody, even grown ups, have to ask for help sometimes.
Empowering. Personal courage. Perseverance. Accepting responsibility.