A young boy grows up playing among the ash, oak, hickory, and maple trees that surround his home. He admires his father's basket-making skills and anticipates the time when he finally will be allowed to join his father on his monthly selling trip to the big city. But the boy is unprepared for the taunts of "hillbilly" and "bushwhacker" he encounters, and he begins to question his own future as a basket maker. This poetic story captures the moment when a child becomes aware that the outside world doesn't view him or his family as he does. In time, the boy accepts his heritage by listening and hearing the wind in the trees.

 

This book is aimed at children in primary school.

This book was published 1998 by Little, Brown & Company .

Barbara Cooney was an American writer and illustrator of over 100 children's books, published over sixty years. She won two Caldecott Medals, which are awarded to the year's best-illustrated U. S. picture book, and a National Book Award. Her books have been translated into 10 languages. MARY LYN RAY lives in South Danbury, New Hampshire. LAUREN STRINGER lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.