Eight stories about growing up poor on the Lower East Side of New York City. Cathy Dunn knew that if she would not give her penny to the witch, the old lady would turn her into a lizard, or a goat. Or a spider so small Cathy's mother would step on her. But one day Cathy decided that she would not give up her penny, and that was the day she came down with a fever. Cathy is just one of the many children who came to New York City with their parents seeking a better life. There is Keplik the Match Man, who builds masterpieces from used matchsticks; Noreen Callahan, who is ashamed to work in her father's smelly fish store; and even a Hanukkah Santa Claus!