Cambridge Springs Public Library

In Philadelphia, Addy Walker and her mother build new lives, with Addy attending school for the first time

Addy and her mother forgo their Christmas plans to help the newly freed slaves arriving in Philadelphia during the Civil War

The boy knows that times are tough for his family. Every night, his father goes out hunting with their great coon dog, Sounder, to try to put food on the table. But even with the little they bring back, there is still never enough for the family to eat. When the boy awakens one morning to a sweet-smelling ham on the table, it seems like a blessing. But soon, the sheriff and his deputies come to the house and take the boy’s father away in handcuffs....

A black family living in Mississippi during the Depression of the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination which its children do not understand.