Writing a fictionalized version of his own past, as he did in The Cookcamp and other books, Paulsen tells of an unnamed boy spending the summer with his grandmother. Grandma works as a cook for two bachelor farmers, and the boy assists in farm chores. Though the details of farm life are well observed, the underdeveloped story line moves in fits and starts; a promised showdown with an attacking goose never takes place.

Gr 5-8-A sequel to The Cookcamp (Orchard, 1991), in which a little boy is sent to Minnesota to stay with his grandmother who cooks for a crew of road builders. Grandma Alida once again steps in at a troubled time in her grandson's life. Now the boy is 14; living with violent, drunken parents; and surviving on a variety of odd jobs and the kindness of neighborhood shopkeepers. A strategically timed letter arrives from his grandmother offering him a summer job as a hired hand on a farm owned by two Norwegian brothers for whom she cooks. He accepts the offer and experiences a season of hard work, music, dancing, and hearty meals served up with warmth, love, and understanding. The rhythms and rituals of farm life are described with alluring detail-enough to make any city kid yearn for a summer away. The book begins with the boy (readers never do learn his name), now a man on leave from the army, visiting his grandmother and remembering that wonderful time in his life. It ends with the man, now married with a family, learning of Alida's unspoken sacrifices for him from a cigar box full of old letters. This beautifully written novella is a quiet tribute to a loving relative.-Barbara Auerbach, Brooklyn Public Library, NY Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.