For Clementine, spring is a really big deal. It's the time for seeing her apple tree start to grow, for watching her friend Margaret go crazy with spring cleaning, and for going on the school trip to Plimoth Plantation. Clementine is ready for Ye Olden Times, but she isn't so sure about surviving lunch there-the fourth graders have strict rules about no eating sounds. (What is snicking, anyway? ) If that wasn't enough, Clementine also faces the challenges of learning Olive-language and surviving The Cloud on Bus 7.

Hearing the pilgrim lady talk about why she made the long journey from England makes Clementine think about rules. Who makes them, and what do they mean to the people who have to live with them? Today Clementine has to decide which rules are made to be broken.