This story is about a boy named Leo.  Leo has a big family and doesn't get much attention.  He has two younger brothers named Nunzio and Pietro and one older sister named Contento.

One day, Leo goes up to the attic and finds his father's journal in a box with his father's things.  He picks up the little blue book and the page that he opens up to says "I tap dance when I'm happy."  In the box, he sees a pair of tap dancing shoes.  Leo hears his father coming up the stairs and he quickly closes the journal and slips it into his pocket.  His father tells him not to go looking in his things.  Leo follows his father down the stairs.

Leo is always trying to find time to read his father's journal.  He finds out about an aunt that no one has ever mentioned to him.  Her name is Aunt Rosemary.

One night, the whole family comes for dinner: the aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins.  Leo, his siblings, and his cousins all sit at the kids' table and the adults sit at the adults' table.  Leo goes to the adults' table to get more bread and, while there, he asks about Aunt Rosemary.  His grandma rushes off to the bathroom saying "oh, oh, oh" and his father gets angry with him.  Leo is confused.

As Leo reads more of his father's journal, he finds out more about his father's life.  He finds out more about Aunt Rosemary.  Leo sees a photograph in the book of his father's family (including Rosemary) having a picnic.  He sees a little dog in the background.  He wonders about the little dog.  Also, Leo reads about Aunt Rosemary's teddy bear named Chili Bear.

Another night, the whole family (except Aunt Rosemary) comes over for dinner again.  When Leo goes to the adults' table to get something, he asks if they ever had a dog.  His father gets angry with him again and his grandmother rushes to the bathroom saying "oh, oh, oh" just as before.

Pietro has a football game.  Leo and his family go to watch it.  Pietro breaks his leg and afterward is poking everyone in the car with his crutches.  Contento then disfigures her knee during a soccar game and also has crutches.  Nunzio has a concert and the family goes to hear him sing.  One of the big kids in the back falls and a lot of kids in the chorus get knocked over. One of them is Nunzio.  He is found lying with his forehead bleeding.  He is unconscious and they take him to the hospital.  Leo prays that Nunzio will be okay. 

Later, Leo is going to be in a school play and he invites his family to see it.  The play starts out smoothly but, after that, it gets messy.  The play ends pretty nicely, though.

Leo visits his grandma and grandpa.  He pulls out an album.  Inside the album, there are pictures of Aunt Rosemary and also the rest of the family.  Leo's grandparents tell Leo and his brother and sister (Nunzio is still in the hospital) the story behind Aunt Rosemary and the little dog. 

This is what Leo's grandma says:   Aunt Rosemary had a little dog.  She loved that little dog very much.  But then, the dog died.  Rosemary was very unhappy.  She was very close with Leo's father and he tried to get her back to normal but nothing helped.  She moved away and didn't give an address or phone number.  She also didn't visit.  Leo's family tried to reach her, but they couldn't.

Then, at the end, Leo's aunt's husband's brother sees Rosemary one day and finds her phone number.  She is seen with a little girl (probably her daughter).  Leo's grandma calls Rosemary and tells her that she wants to see her granddaughter some day.