Making good on a promise he made to his dying wife, a widower (Jones) opens a reading room, a place where people can learn to read. Despite his goodwill, problems in the neighborhood threaten his establishment.

A married couple takes in three boys from the local orphanage for the holidays and all three boys hope to be adopted.

Seeking to offer his son the satisfying summer camp experience that eluded him as a child, the operator of a neighborhood day care center opens his own camp, only to face financial hardship and stiff competition from a rival camp.