The author of this story of a little Chinese boy lived in China during her own childhood. From the memories of those years she writes of Little Pear, who was five years old and lived in a Chinese village. His eyes were like black apple seeds and his hair was shaved except for one pigtail tied with bright-colored string and standing straight up on top of his head. This is not only the story of one little boy but also a picture of the way Chinese children live—what they eat, what they wear, the toys they play with. There are more than one hundred illustrations showing Little Pear himself, his family and his friends. With its gay red and yellow binding and jacket the book looks like the same package of Chinese fire-crackers with which Little Pear burned a hole in his new coat. 

From the dust jacket