In the midst of Hurricane Isla, 9-year-old Gus experiences fear, excitement and adventure, both because of the hurricane but also because of four stories of adventure and fantasy his great grandfather not only wrote but also swore were true. A mind-reading dragon with a weight problem, an intellectual, talking tree, and two most unlikely young adventurers, Joey Perch and Willie G Soon are just some of the characters that inhabit the remarkable and humorous world of Ranatanland. 

But it all becomes real when his grandfather begins to read the stories, Gus is magically transported to Ranatanland to take part in Willie G and Joey’s adventures.

The first story, “The Secret of Holiday Stream,” is an exciting adventure story, in which Joey and Willie G search for the origin of Holiday Stream, which overflows every holiday to water all the crops in Ranatanland. The second story, “The Season of Like,” tells three love stories of some of  the most unique characters in the book. The third tale, “The Annual Once-in-a-Lifetime Healy Crab Race,” describes Willie G’s decision to enter his pet healy crab, Speedbump, in the most important and exciting race in Ranatanland. The final story, “The Lazy 13,” centers on eleven of Willie G and Joey’s school friends, including Willie G and Joey, as they hilariously struggle to get through summer school.

As Gus and his grandparents huddle in their wood-frame house to wait out the hurricane, one question haunts young Gus: Could the stories possibly be true? It is a question that is not answered until Gus tries to follow the steps his great grandfather took so many years ago.