Ellie pet-sits for her neighbor's African grey parrot Alix, about whom she is writing a report, while her family argues over whether to get a cat or a dog, and her little brother accidentally lets Alix out of his cage, all of which is chronicled in Ellie's ever-present sketchbook.

Ellie writes and doodles in a journal of her family's move to a new home and her struggle to make friends, which gets a lot easier as she leads a nonviolent protest about long lunch lines at school.

"Ten-year-old Celie's grandmother has moved in with her family, and Granny's forgetfulness is starting to worry Celie. In the meantime, she can tell her parents are keeping secrets, but she can't talk to her best friend Lula or her sister Jo, because they're both keeping secrets, too. Why is Lula not sharing with Celie? Who is Jo texting all the time? And what is Celie supposed to do when special time with her grandmother becomes much more complicated--and...

Ellie writes and doodles in a journal of her family's move to a new home and her struggle to make friends, which gets a lot easier as she leads a nonviolent protest about long lunch lines at school.

Written as a diary by the ship's boy, this story presents a personal view of Columbus's first trip across the Atlantic and of his discovery of America.