When Dailey de Angeli gets his great grandfather's violin for his birthday, he knows he must practice hard so that he can become a great musician. But for an eleven-year-old, life is full of many exciting distractions. How can Dailey ever find the time to learn his scales and still have fun during the summer as other boys do?

Happily, he is able to do both. When his actor-father takes the whole family to Atlantic City, every day becomes a new adventure. Whether it's flying down the boardwalk on a homemade sail wagon with his dog, Roy, or putting out to sea in an abandoned boat that he and his friends have refurbished, Dailey finds many ways to have fun, and a few close calls too.

When he goes to Philadelphia in the fall to live with his Aunt Em and study at the conservatory, Dailey proves to some local bullies that he's not a "sissy" just because he plays the violin, and when his parents arrive at Thanksgiving to hear him play with the student orchestra, he knows that all his practicing has really been worth while.

Marguerite di Angeli has written a warm and memorable story that continues the tradition of excellence that characterizes all of her work. Fiddlestrings is a welcome addition to the long line of Mrs. de Angeli's children's books, which have been favorites with young readers for almost forty years.

From the dust jacket