This book has been graded for interest at 4-8 years.

This book was published 2002 by Farrar Straus Giroux .

R. W. Alley is the illustrator of many beloved books, including Because Your Daddy Loves You and its sequels, and the Paddington Bear picture book series. He lives in Barrington, Rhode Island. Visit his website at www. rwalley. com. Cynthia DeFelice is a successful children's author who lives in New York. This book was inspired by her grandfather who was apprenticed to a rural doctor at the age of twelve, and went on to become a respected surgeon.