"Whing, whing. Whing, whing." That's Squirt-talk. It means, "Swing, swing. Swing, swing." Squirt is my baby brother. He doesn't say many words yet, but he loves to swing, so he made up a word for that pretty quickly.

I am Jessica Ramsey, known as Jessi. I'm eleven years old. My family and I live inSto-neybrook,Connecticut , a small town. We're sort of newcomers, since we arrived near the beginning of this school year, when I was starting sixth grade. I have a mom and a dad; a sister, Rebecca; and of course Squirt. Both of my parents work. They like their jobs a lot. In fact, Dad likes his so much that when his company told him he was being transferred to the branch office inStamford,Connecticut , he picked up and moved us Ramseys to Stoney-brook, which is nearStamford . (We used to live inNew Jersey .)

Rebecca is eight. Just as I go by the nickname Jessi, she goes by the nickname Becca. Becca is a neat little sister. She has a sense of humor and a good imagination, although she's shy. Sometimes I think she's too sensitive. Maybe she needs to develop a thicker skin. On the other hand, if she weren't so sensitive, she might not be so kind and thoughtful. Here's an example of what makes Becca special. You know how most kids participate in some kind of after-school activity? Like sports or dance lessons or Brownies or Cub Scouts? Well, when Becca decided to try an activity for the first time, she joined the Kids-Can-Do-Any-thing Club at her school, Stoneybrook Elementary. The club (which the members refer to simply as the Kids Club) is for boys and girls ages eight, nine, and ten, and its purpose is to ... help others. The kids think of ways to help out in the community. Then the two teachers, who volunteer their time to run the club, help the kids carry out their plans. The kids have done all sorts of things. They cleaned up the trash in an empty lot so the mayor could put a park there. They collected food for people who wouldn't have had a Thanksgiving otherwise. And now they were working on a toy drive. They were collecting new toys to give to the children's ward at the