When she and her pet hen, Blanca, investigate, they see a man leaving with a large sack-full of fruit from Rosalinda's beloved lemon tree. After consulting with family and neighbors about how to save her sick tree, Rosalinda sets out in search of La Anciana, the Old One, the only person who might have a solution to Rosalinda's predicament. When she finally meets La Anciana, the old woman offers an inventive way for Rosalinda to help her tree-and the Night Man who was driven to steal her lemons.

Armando's family is pepenadores, trash pickers, living off things they can use, recycle, and sell from the city trash dump. Armando works with his father to help support the family, but he also finds things for himself--pencil stubs, a notebook, and an old paint set--with which to write and paint. One summer Senor David arrives and begins teaching school on a blue tarp spread on the ground. Armando's parents finally decide that learning may help him find different work when he grows up, so he begins attending the blue tarp school. The children learn to read and write in Spanish and...