Eleven-year-old Danielle Godot has her own room in a nice house near the beach, two devoted parents, a kid brother who is only occasionally a pain in the you-know-what, a parakeet, a rabbit and a loyal best friend who is as into skateboarding and animals as she is. What could possibly be wrong with this picture? In Elephant in the Living Room, authors Alison Leslie Gold and Darin Elliott show that even colossal problems can be invisible as long as no one wants to see them for what they are. Gutsy, tom-boyish, big-hearted Danielle loves her father fiercely. But she is embittered by the loss of...

The clever lost dog from "Elephant in the Living Room" finally finds a home with a new family and befriends Zachary, a 121/2 year old who is slightly more sensitive than most boys his age, preferring nature and art to sports, for which he is increasingly bullied by tougher boys at his middle school. Too embarrassed to tell his parents or older sister, Tristan, a budding artist, his main confidante becomes the new dog, Cassia, and the two become dependent on each other as Zachary tries in various ways to avoid the bullying at school and deal with his insecurities as he transitions from the...