When the Voda family first saw the house where they were to live on the Fosters' farm in Alabama, it seemed too wonderful to be true. A whole house all to themselves!

For the Vodas were Polish Displaced Persons, newly arrived in America after years of trouble.

Now there was bountiful food for mother Voda to cook for her family, good land for the farmer father to work on, space for little Josef to play in. For twelve-year-old Tilka, still haunted by the horrors she had lived through, there were friendliness and peace to help her forget. For Jan—also twelve years old—there was the swamp, with its rich beauty of shrub and flower to remind him of the beloved, far-off homeland where he had first learned the fascination of growing things.

The Wooden Locket tells the story of the Vodas' first year in America: of strange language and customs gradually becoming familiar and dear; of shy acquaintance warming into friendship; of fun and learning at school and at home.

Best of all, it is the story of how people coming empty-handed to a land of plenty find that they have much to give and much to teach in exchange for hospitality and kindness. The carefully guarded secret of Jan's wooden locket is a lovely symbol of "the old world's riches shared with a new land," and a promise of happiness for those who do the sharing. 

From the dust jacket