Adventures from the Book of Virtues

Zach plans to invite a lot of classmates to his birthday party -- more guests means more gifts! -- until his parents tell him that they can only afford a small party for Zach’s closest friends. Disappointed, Zach retreats to Plato’s Peak where he hears several tales which demonstrate the importance of gratitude.

Annie is looking forward to spring vacation until her mother asks her to help baby-sit her four-year-old twin cousins part of the time. At first, Annie balks at being selfless and sharing her time, until she learns the value of giving up something in the present to achieve a greater future good.

Zach needs a 90 on his history test to get an A minus on his report card and just make the school honor roll. And it looks like he’s done it...until he realizes his teacher added the points wrong and he only got an 87. If he tells, he’ll lose the honor he wanted so badly to win. But Plato’s stories help him realize there’s a more important kind of honor at stake.

When Annie volunteers to help a younger schoolmate with his math, she grows increasingly impatient with the boy and loses her temper. Annie regrets offering to tutor the boy, until she hears several stories from her friends at Plato’s Peak about the virtue of patience.

When a cold front moves through Spring Valley, making life miserable for the poor, Zach and Annie decide to collect clothes donations from their neighbors. When Annie includes her favorite leather jacket, and later regrets it, she must come to terms with the true meaning of ‘charity.’

When Zach first complains about the leadership abilities of the team captain of his water polo team and then later gets elected to the position of captain himself -- he learns, firsthand, what it means to lead others.

When Annie’s father is called for jury duty, the family vacation is put on hold. Annie, excited about taking a trip, doesn’t understand why her father can’t just postpone his jury duty, prompting several stories up at Plato’s Peak about citizenship -- the civic virtue.

Zach decides he wants to be a photographer. He is diligent in his study of photography, until the school newspaper offers him what he considers a thankless assignment -- taking pictures for their new classified ads section. Zach is disappointed. With guidance from Plato and Aurora, he realizes he should apply himself to this assignment with the same diligence he originally had for learning photography.

When Annie’s obsession with baseball playing results in a drop in her grades, Plato relates two tales that demonstrate the value of moderation in all things.

Faced with the prospect of attending a new school, Zach wonders whether he is wise enough to make new friends or handle his new, more difficult studies. A story told up at Plato’s Peak, and a recap of his and Annie’s past adventures, help him realize that he is wiser than he thought.