The Vanderbeekers Books in Order

Days before Christmas, five siblings learn their landlord wants their family out of its beloved Harlem apartment. Determined to stay, they launch a series of increasingly desperate schemes to change his mind before moving day arrives.

When a beloved neighbour falls ill, the Vanderbeeker children decide to transform an abandoned lot into a welcome-home garden. Locked gates, rubbish and unexpected obstacles challenge their plan to create something beautiful for their Harlem community.

The Vanderbeeker children’s spring-break plans collapse after they accidentally jeopardize their mother’s baking business. Racing to repair the damage, they face mysterious deliveries and learn how difficult it can be to solve one problem without creating another.

While helping with neighbourhood races and autumn celebrations, the Vanderbeeker siblings secretly feed someone sleeping in their community garden. Discovering the person’s identity forces them to confront a difficult situation and rethink how to care for someone they love.

The Vanderbeekers plan a surprise fortieth-birthday celebration for their father, but his unexpected departure and arriving guests complicate everything. As the children investigate their family’s past, they discover new reasons to value the grandparents they have and those they lost.

A cross-country birthday trip promises the Vanderbeekers an adventure together until a breakdown disrupts their plans. When the younger siblings discover that college interviews may change the family’s future, they struggle to accept the possibility of growing apart.

Preparations for a joyful wedding are upended when one Vanderbeeker sibling receives a serious diagnosis. As hospital visits replace celebrations, the family befriends another sick child and relies on its Harlem community to face an uncertain future.