Simple text and illustrations depict animals in various work and training situations and conclude that school can be fun for animals and for boys and girls.
Trained as a search-and-rescue dog since puppyhood, Ellie can track and find people who are physically lost, but it is her owners, widower Jakob and lonely Maya, who challenge her to find a way to save people who are lost in other ways.
Tired of his twelve-hour shifts and facing danger daily, Bitty, a canary whose courage more than makes up for his small size, treks to the state capital to try to improve working conditions in coal mines.