When stargazer Maryellen learns that a rocket scientist will visit her classroom and be introduced by the student who writes the best essay on "The Wonder of Space", she can't wait to enter the contest--even after a classmate's disparaging remark that girls and outer space don't mix. To really make a splash, Maryellen forgoes the essay and draws a comic book about a fearless adventurer, "Astro Girl". But will her daring comic earn her a place in the stars?

Anastasia Romanov escapes through a portal when her family is threatened by Vladimir Lenin, and she finds herself in the year 1988, befriended by a young American girl.