When a seven-inch growth spurt in the sixth grade makes skinny, self-conscious Eric a school misfit and the victim of the class bully, he is led to befriend Cynthia, a proud and spirited African American girl who is disabled.
In 1938 Wisconsin, when twelve-year-old Franny's father loses his job as a hired hand and has to go looking for work, the family members doubt their self-reliance as they face again the hard times they had hoped were gone for good.
