Adventures From the Book of Virtues

Annie and Zach are saddened to see some families in town don't have any heat or warm clothes for the cold winter, and wish someone could help. Plato explains how anyone can make a difference and even tells them the story of how a monk's giving to those in need was enough reward for him throughout his life in "The Emerald Lizard".

Annie is disappointed that her family's vacation is postponed since her father has jury duty, and wonders why he simply doesn't skip it. Plato explains citizenship can reward good character, as shown in "The Stone in the Road" where those with and without it are repaid accordingly, and even if it doesn't, can make differences for the better, as the Roman Cincinnatus demonstrated by leading when...

As newly elected Drama Club President, Annie demands that the group perform "I'm Dreaming of a Galactic Christmas" instead of the traditional "A Christmas Carol," and keeps all the profits rather than donating half to the orphanage as usual.

Annie dreams of being Annie Scrooge, living out A Christmas Carol.

Zack and Annie hike a dangerous trail where Zack realizes he is afraid of heights. His friends tell him a story to overcome his fears.

Annie is defeated badly by a formidable opponent in a hurdles race, and her confidence leaves her after that. Plato tries to help her get her it back by telling the story of "The Minotaur", where an opportunity was taken to protect people in spite of the danger.

Zach and Annie go mountain-biking in the woods, but Zach's bike overturns and he sprains his ankle. Annie decides to stick with him since he can't walk or ride on it, and gets him not to think about their being stranded by retelling the Greek fable "Proetus" Plato told them, where a Greek king had to use all his willpower and strength to allow himself and his soldiers to return home.

Zach's first assignment for photographer of the school paper is, to his disappointment, taking pictures of things for the advertisements. He wants to quit, but Ari points out that every task has its ups and downs so the best solution is to work hard and cheerfully, as shown in "The Discontented Pig", and Michelangelo's refusal to shun any duty, from making snow-art when he knew it would melt to...

Annie is saddened when her faith-devoted neighbor Ruth passes away, and wonders whether faith is really wroth it because of that. Plato tries to convince her that it is very much worth it by telling the stories of the Hebrew Daniel in the lions' den, who looked to faith always and saw how times of trouble caused it to prove strong, and Harriet Tubman's determination to use faith to continue tak...

After Zach feels threatened by a new athlete on his track team, a potential friendship comes to a screeching halt. Just like the story of friendship between Robin Hood and Little John, Zach realizes that a good friendship can be born out of healthy competition.

Annie is disheartened when her new friend Sarah decides to choose a partner other than her to go canoeing with, even though she agreed to pair up with her, just because Annie's canoe leaks. Plato reads "Waukewa's Eagle" to show how compassion is occasionally and a good heart is always found in real friendships like that of a Maliseet boy and a bird.

Plato learns that Annie and Zach are collecting canned goods for a homeless shelter, but their first priority is the rewards they'll get instead of helping the hungry, to the point where they argue over who should be recognized first at a celebration. He tries to explain how true giving requires selflessness, as shown in the story of "Rocking-Horse Land" where it's done between friends, and how...

It's Zach's birthday and he wants to plan a large party to celebrate but is bitter when his parents inform him they can only host a moderate one.

Country mouse Emily and her cousin from the big city, Alexander, visit each other and have adventures together at the turn of the century. They always seem to run into trouble and bother with humans, other animals and exciting situations, but when they put their heads together, they can solve any problem. And in the process, they learn about the places they visit and the things they see.

Zach is sorely tempted to touch his dad's beautiful antique camera, despite promising not to - and when he does, he breaks it and lies that it fell off its display table naturally. Plato tries to convince Zach to tell the truth by telling him the stories of "The Frog Prince", where the title character received a punishment for breaking a promise and another had to keep one made, and the legend ...

Annie is conflicted between painting the fence and a party she wants to go to. When she makes promises she can't keep she runs into problem after problem.

Zach feels triumphant when he gets a high enough grade on his history test to give him a good grade on his report card and make the honor roll, until he catches a mistake his teacher didn't. He is tempted to keep it secret so he'll be rewarded for his achievement, but Plato points out that the greatest honor, and reward, come from openness as shown in "The Honest Woodsman", and how even before ...

After boasting about how good she is at snowboarding, Annie feels bold enough to take a dare to ride down Deadmans Bluff, without thinking of the dangers it might bring. Nobody can convince her to change her mind, until Plato tells the story of "Pecos Bill and Slue-Foot Sue", where a foolhardy risk led to a bad situation.

Annie gets more orders for her craft weathervanes with Plato, Aurora, Ari, and Sock on them than she can deliver right away, so rushes through some to sell them - then gets complaints about how they're dysfunctional. Plato encourages her to consider what the results of a rushed job show by telling "For Want of a Horseshoe Nail", where one incomplete task led to a remarkably high amount of troub...

Zach's dad brings a model replica of an artifact from Egypt for him to use on his history project, but Zach is embarrassed that it is fake and claims it is a real artifact - then trouble occurs when his teacher wonders if he can put it on display at a museum. Plato reminds him that exaggerating tall tales never pay off, as another found out in "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" when he wasn't believed ev...

Zach doesn't think much of his football captain, and when Plato hears of Melanie's glory-lust which allows her to do as she pleases at the cost of the benefit of the team, he tells "The Tower to to the Moon" to demonstrate how a leader's self-importance was rewarded.

Zach enjoys birdwatching with Mr. Cleveland, but in climbing on a plaque to get up to a tree he breaks it and doesn't get why Mr. Cleveland is so worked up over it, especially when he shows confusion over why anyone would care about such an aged thing.

After watching too many movies on cable, Zach has a lesson to learn about moderation.

Annie does her best in baseball and ends up leading her team tot he champion game, but then learns she's been spending too little time on schoolwork. Plato points out that being involved too much in something doesn't mean it brings rewards, as a creature learns in the African folktale "The Spider's Two Feasts" where determination to take much forced him to make a decision he didn't handle well.