Whether related by biology, marriage, circumstance, or choice, aunts embody a uniquely flexible familial role. The aunt-niece/nephew relationship--though often overlooked--is critical and complex, one that appears at the core of a resilient, healthy family life. Drawing on personal narratives that represent a rich cross section of society, Ellingson and Sotirin construct a cohesive story of the diversity of aunting experiences in the contemporary...

Free throw specialist Cornell "Dunk" Duncan joins the YMCA summer basketball league all-star team, but after losing his confidence in an important game the seventh-grader makes some decisions about becoming an all-around player.

After James Henry Trotter's parents are tragically eaten by a rhinoceros, he goes to live with his two horrible aunts. Life there is no fun, until James receives some magical, tiny green things and accidentally drops them by the old peach tree and strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it's as big as a house. Inside, James meets a bunch of oversized friends-- Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug,...

Eight-year-old Ellie has to give up her life-long dream of getting a puppy after her parents agree to take in the dog that Great-aunt Margaret can no longer keep.

Talkative, ten-year-old Rebecca goes to live with her spinster aunts, one harsh and demanding, the other soft and sentimental, with whom she spends seven difficult but rewarding years growing up.

A young boy who has always been allowed to express his feelings as loudly as he wants teaches his citified aunt to do the same.

An orphaned girl is sent to live with extended family after her father's sudden death. Emily Starr is forced to leave her relaxed home for a stern environment. She struggles to adjust to her relatives and new classmates on Prince Edward Island.

A young girl and her favorite aunt share the excitement of planning a very special car trip for just the two of them.