The hills and small towns of western North Carolina in the 1950s come to life in this collection of stories by master storyteller Donald Davis. He’s shared his tales everywhere—from the World’s Fair to the Smithsonian to the National Storytelling Festival—and now he invites readers into the adventures of his own childhood. His stories follow him from his earliest school days all the way to the moment he begins to understand the big changes happening in the world, including the loss of friends during the Vietnam War.
A tiny sandpiper and a giant whale start a funny but serious battle over who owns the beach. When they call in all their animal cousins to help, the birds and sea creatures soon realize that their fight is hurting the ocean they both share.