As a boy, Kyle was excited when he received Jake, a puppet, as a Christmas gift. He worked hard to learn to speak without moving his lips. The shows he put on made Jake and him a hit, but that ended in middle school when his friends teased him for carrying around a doll. Now a third-grade teacher, Kyle is always looking for ways to reach his students, especially Wendy, a shy, silent girl. An answer arrives in a package from his mom. In it are items from his youth, his baseball glove, his favorite chapter books, a model airplane, and Jake. As he removes Jake from the box, Kyle comes up with a plan on how he can use Jake in his classroom and help Wendy come out of her shell.