The new novel from the bestselling author of The Glass Lake and Circle of Friends evokes the lives of eight Dubliners who come together in an "Introduction to Italian" class which culminates in a magical viaggio to Italy.

"When Splat the Cat and his class take a school trip to the zoo, all Splat wants is to see the penguins"--

When Marvin Monster and his second-grade class go on a field trip with their new teacher, Miss Witchafred, Marvin learns that the gossip about her is incorrect.

The students in Miss Mickle's third-grade class enjoy a boat trip on the Connecticut River after a class discussion of ancestors reveals that Sidney and Ida both have connections to the sea.

Fourth-grader Hank, while on a field trip aboard "The Pilgrim Spirit," tries to learn knot tying in his own unique way, which causes unforeseen problems.

When Junie B. learns that her kindergarten class is going on a field trip to a farm, she worries about being attacked by a rooster.

On a class trip to the pumpkin patch, Froggy exuberantly picks a pumpkin in hopes of carving a jack-o'-lantern, making a pumpkin pie, and possibly winning a prize in his class's pumpkin-picking contest.

Ruthie thinks nothing exciting will ever happen to her until her sixth-grade class visits the Art Institute of Chicago, where she and her best friend Jack discover a magic key that shrinks them to the size of gerbils and allows them to explore the Thorne Rooms--the collection of sixty-eight miniature rooms from various time periods and places--and discover their secrets.

Molly's class is going on a field trip to the Space Science Center, and, despite what everyone tells her, Molly is convinced that they will find a real rocket there and blast off into outer space--but when she sneaks away from the class and tries to take off in the "spaceship" she finds herself totally grounded.