A CLA Book of the Year for Children Award Honour-Book and finalist for the Silver Birch and Red Cedar awards

It’s the Depression, but Red’s family is managing better than most on their Prince Edward Island farm. Hard working and resourceful, they have enough to eat and to help others, even if at times they are mocked by their neighbours for putting education ahead of farm work. Eleven-year-old Red, with his preference for woodworking, doesn’t always shine at school, but he can’t slack off—his older sister, Ellen, is the local teacher, and she simply won’t tolerate it.

But when Red’s father is injured, the family’s situation looks dire. Red must step up to the challenge to finish the tobacco boxes that his father makes and help shovel out a train stuck in the snow. Stubborn, even pig-headed, Red makes many mistakes along the way, landing himself in the midst of some hair-raising and hilarious adventures involving horses, lost sisters, outhouses and even airplanes. But in this gem of a novel—a CCBC Best Books for Kids and Teens selection and Girl Guides of Canada Book Club pick—the hero’s heart is always in the right place.