When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She's alone--left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned. With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. As months pass, she escapes natural disasters, looters, and wild animals. But Maddie's most formidable enemy is the crushing loneliness...

A lonely pencil timidly draws a boy, a dog, and other items but soon faces a problem as his creations begin demanding changes, and when he draws an eraser to make them happy, the real trouble begins.

Experiencing her world through the evocative sounds she collects, 11-year-old Maybelle becomes convinced that a new radio DJ is her absent father before entering a singing contest that the DJ will be judging in Nashville.

Mars is lonely--his sibling planets will not play with him--but when rovers Spirit and Opportunity arrive from Earth, he finally has playmates. Includes facts about the solar system, Mars, and the Mars rovers.

When all manner of creatures-from tumbleweed to lizard to owl-come to disturb his peace, Hank the cactus is annoyed. He doesn't like noise, he doesn't like rowdiness, and definitely does not like hugs. But the thing is, no one is offering one. Hank is beginning to discover that being alone can be, well, lonely. So he comes up with a plan to get the one thing he thought he would never need: a hug from a friend.