All of Mika's schoolmates knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. Mika couldn't decide. He might be a doctor, a lumberman, or a champion skier. These were all good ideas, but none of them seemed just right.

Mika's mother told him not to worry about it. There were years before he would have to make up his mind. When Mika's father returned from a long fishing trip, he agreed with Mother.

Then a trip to town, a birchbark basket, and a luscious red apple send Mika on the way to discovering what will make him happiest. For Mika was a boy with sisu, a kind of stubborn determination combined with a sense of knowing his place in the scheme of things.

Against the beautiful background of the Finnish countryside, Clyde Robert Bulla has created a lively tale of modern Finland that will appeal to anyone who has ever thought about what he will be when he grows up.

From the dust jacket