Ten Kids, No Pets is a great example of normal life. You can imagine yourself right in the center of the story. The novel starts out one hot day in August when the Rosso family moves from New York to a New Jersey farm. There are twelve people in the family- Mr. Rosso, Mrs. Rosso, Abbie, Bainbridge, Candy, Dagwood, Eberhard (also known as Hardy), Faustine and Gardenia (the twins), Hannah, Ira, and Jan. The children are all one year apart, except for Faustine and Gardenia. Abbie, the main character in the first chapter can't wait to move. There would be more space, and now she would only have to share a room with Candy. And maybe, they can get a pet, even though mother says ten kids are enough!
The story continues with normal events, but also some very unique events. Candy finds a hidden room, where a young girl was once hidden. The children secretly bring a rabbit there and name it "Secret". Hardy used Secret as his rabbit when he was a magician on Halloween. The hidden room is not a good place for Secret to live, so the kids let him go. School brings more problems. Ira lies that he has eleven pets to get his classmates to like him. That was a big mistake.
Mrs. Rosso wants the kids to have a real Thanksgiving turkey, not a Butterball, so they order one from a nearby farm. The children name the huge, lively turkey Goliath, and visit him often. The ten kids decide Goliath is their friend, and do not want to eat a friend. Without their parents permission, the children order him, still alive, to be delivered Thanksgiving day. The Rosso's have a Butterball for Thanksgiving.
At about Christmas time, "Project X" starts in the basement. No Rosso child knows what it is. It is covered by a black cloth, and no one is allowed to see it without permission from a parent. Jan, the youngest, goes to get a glass of milk in the middle of the night and hears voices in the basement. They are talking about something like a "Doe House". Jan immediately thinks "doghouse". She tells her siblings, and they all agree. The children buy toys and stuff for the new dog. It turns out to be a doll house for Jan.
The story ends with Mrs. Rosso announcing she is pregnant with an eleventh child. The kids argue with her. She always says ten kids are enough, and now she is having eleven! They really want a pet! Mr. and Mrs. Rosso finally that the children can have a pet. The children want a dog, for they have all those toys. But before they go to the pound, the twins find an abandoned kitten. They adopt him instead, and name him Zsa-Zsa. A year after they moved to New Jersey, the Rossos have more friends, a pet, and an almost new addition to their family. What a happy ending!!!