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.

Shandy the lamb, rejected by his mother and the other ewes, is cared for by a young boy until he is big enough to try to rejoin the flock of sheep.

"Tetenya is looking for a family of rhinos to take in an orphan named Faru, but he can see poachers nearby. He stains Faru's horn pink with berry juice, making it useless to the poachers. At last they find a herd protected by a ranger, and Faru is safe."-- Provided by publisher.

Braden and Finley accompany their father, a wildlife biologist, when he tags a bear that has just had cubs and later, use the tag to find her again in hopes she will adopt an orphaned cub. Includes activities.