When Isaac discovers a little wooden horse among his grandfather's treasures, he longs to find out where it comes from. Set in the American South, the story tells of Isaac's great-great-great-grandfather, Jack, and Jack's sister, Molly, who are sold into slavery on a tobacco plantation. Jack gives Molly a little wooden horse as a keepsake before he is sold on downriver to a cotton plantation. Soon Jack is forced to flee for his life, hiding in the marshlands before stowing away on a Mississippi paddle-steamer. Eventually it is the little wooden horse that reunites him with Molly, in a dramatic and poignant story that takes an unsentimental look at the life of runaway slaves.

 

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2006 by Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd .

Stewart Lees grew up in London and Norfolk and studied illustration at Richmond College in West London before beginning his career as an illustrator. He has illustrated a number of book jackets for Hodder, Macmillan and HarperCollins, and his books include Anna Growing Up on the Farm (Brimax, 1998) and My First Word Book (Brimax, 1997). He now lives in Norfolk with his wife and four children. His first book for Frances Lincoln was The Lucky Sovereign.