As a little girl, Jane has no one. Her mother, the powerful head of a Broadway theater company, has no time for her. She does have one friend - a handsome, comforting, funny man named Michael-but only she can see him. Years later, Jane is in her thirties and just as alone as ever. Then she meets Michael again - as handsome, smart and perfect as she remembers him to be. But not even Michael knows the reason they've really been reunited.

In parallel stories, Bone, an orphaned dog, finds and loses a series of homes, Molly, a family pet, helps Charlie through the grief and other after-effects of his brother's death, and lonely Henry pleads for a dog of his own.

Little Bear finds a cave that is just the right size for him, but at bedtime he starts thinking about Big Bear, all alone in their big Bear Cave.

All the fruits gather together and enjoy a rhyming party, but poor Orange feels left out because he does not rhyme with anything--until Apple invents a new word.

"An accessible, concise, and comprehensive guide to understanding and dealing with the impact and consequences of social isolation"--

A lonely girl finds a friend when she and her grandfather rescue a wounded crane.

Written when the author was ten years old, tells of a dog and a boy who are both lonely until they are included by others.A lone dog comes upon a group of kids playing ball and with leaping ease, joins the game. They're all having so much fun, they don't see a sad little boy standing off by himself. Who will spy the boy and invite him to play?

Young Elsie must find a way to adapt to her new home on the Nebraska prairie after she and her father leave their comfortable city life in Boston.

Emmeline's gift to control and manipulate shadows makes her the subject of mockery and fear. Forbidden to leave home by her parents, Emmeline's closest confidant is her own shadow, Dar. When a noble stranger visits and offers her parents a cure, Emmeline is terrified of losing her power and her only friend. So Dar proposes a deal: she will change the noble's mind if Emmeline will help her become flesh. When the man ends up in a coma, Emmeline is stunned...

As midnight approaches in a small Southwestern town, five lonely strangers randomly cross paths, and in unique and subtle ways, change each other's lives forever. A modern-day parable about how seemingly insignificant acts of grace can make a profound difference.