At Harlem's Langston Hughes Middle School, eleven-year-old Elijah "Jumper" Breeze and his friends compete against Nia and her girlfriends on the basketball court, in a video dance tournament, and for a Student Council seat, and, meanwhile, several of the students face issues with their fathers.

Eight-year-old Steve Satlow is thrilled when Jackie Robinson moves into his Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn in 1948, although many of his neighbors are not, and when Steve actually meets his hero he is even more excited--and worried that a misunderstanding over a Christmas tree could damage his new friendship.