Who ever would think a huge old gnarled tree could look like a tenement house? Tino did!

The big tree reminded him of his crowded city home, where he lived on the top floor with his three brothers who were older, and his three sisters who were younger.

Why, there were even fire escapes on the tenement tree! And many floors with "people" of all sorts—noisy people, quiet people, big and little, speaking all kinds of languages. Of course the "people" were animals—or sometimes plants—they made him think of quarrelsome Mr. Murphy, for instance, or a janitor he knew—or even a burglar he had never known but had heard about.

It was fun to be in the country with Aunt Trina, who was an artist—she played guessing games with him and was never impatient with his imagination the way Papa was.

But the summer came to an end and Tino had to go back to the city. What a fine time he had when Papa saw what Aunt Trina and he had made together. Papa was so proud of him that he agreed a good imagination is one of the most precious gifts of all!

Kate Seredy's drawings, with her usual deft touch, link the city and the country. City children will revel in the wonder and complexity of nature and country children marvel at the city as seen through the eyes of an imaginative child.

From the dust jacket