Skunks, woodchucks, a crow named Poe, an 18-foot, half-finished canoe in the living room...welcome to the North home! Rascal is only a baby when Sterling brings him home to loin the menagerie, but soon raccoon and boy are best friends.

In 1938 Wisconsin, when twelve-year-old Franny's father loses his job as a hired hand and has to go looking for work, the family members doubt their self-reliance as they face again the hard times they had hoped were gone for good.

In 1928, after her family moves from St. Paul, Minnesota, to a farm in Siren, Wisconsin, thirteen-year-old Tootie has trouble believing that the move is part of God's plan.