The stories are grouped by theme—heritage, holidays, and contemporary culture; family life; friends and other relationships; and dealing with differences. Individual stories explore additional themes such as the challenge of making do with little money, the process of moving to a new country and learning English, and young people's relationships to animals and to the natural world. Each story contains an introduction that offers historical, cultural, and biographical information. A general introduction and list of works by the thirteen contributors offer further avenues for research and discussion.

Lyn Miller-Lachmann is an American author, editor, and teacher. She was the editor-in-chief of MultiCultural Review for 16 years and is the author of the award-winning reference work Our Family, Our Friends, Our World: An Annotated Guide to Significant Books for Children and Teenagers. She currently divides her time between New York City and Lisbon, Portugal.