After experiencing what should have been the most idyllic childhood, four siblings must learn how to assimilate back into the real world.

A 5-year-old boy with a unique way of seeing the world feels alienated from his mother and tells her that he does not need her anymore. This viewpoint later causes him to lash out at his family, leading him to reflect on himself and his life.

Two siblings are thrilled at their father’s return to their home after a long week of work and, in their fervor for playtime with him, cause his well-being to take a turn for the worse.

After their mother leaves a preteen and her siblings, the preteen must navigate her emerging adolescence by herself in an orphanage.

After a young Jewish boy moves to Berlin with his family, he learns that his family agreed to watch a boy from the mental institution on the weekends. The two become friends, and the boy learns more about himself through meeting the other boy.

Two sheltered children are put under the care of a governess with unorthodox ideas about education. The children have never loved learning until now - but these novel ideas draw the disapproval of their mother, who is determined to get rid of the new governess.

A young girl works to impress her highly critical parents and submits to a terrible fate as she struggles to meet their impossible standards.

A son tells a series of stories, most of them about his father and stepfather. As the son describes a robbery that took place at his house in high school and his experiences with his father, a former Jehovah's Witness and current alcoholic, he begins to recall details from his childhood.

A day in the life of an ordinary family is complicated by secret thoughts and feelings as everyone occupies themselves with the task of watching the others.

A five year old child to a new home in a sandy region near miners and must navigate the seemingly random changes and curious characters she meets along the way.