Kate Bannister was high-spirited, impulsive and outspoken. These were qualities that could lead to mischief in a busy town like New Hope, Pennsylvania, in the mid-1800's.

The canal locks were located there and Kate's father Sam was in charge of them. Kate was proud of her father and loved canal life. For her it was the very center of the universe, with the strange flow of barges with their exotic names. She liked to walk along the towpath and look at the water and watch the riverboats but she couldn't help feeling superior to the barge families like the Keeners who came through the locks, even though her father scolded her for it.

Of all the barge people Kate particularly disliked David Keener with his mocking smile and his way of turning up at the wrong time, like the day she was taking a forbidden swim. But, as Kate was to learn by exciting experience, barge families could be good neighbors too, and even David could be all right when he turned up at the right moment, just in time for a rescue.

In A Tune for the Towpath Jane Flory has created a vivid picture of a fascinating period in America's past. She has also given us a lively heroine, a warm family, and a merry set of adventures, all illustrated in the author's appealing black and white drawings.

From the dust jacket