Newbery Medalist Paul Fleischman’s testament to vision, passion, and destiny is beautifully complemented by folk art-inspired paintings by the virtuoso Bagram Ibatoulline. There once lived a farmer whose heart glowed like a hot wood stove with the love of animals. No one loved animals more than the farmer. All day long, he and his three sons toiled on the farm, singing while they worked. The eldest son favored coachman’s songs; the second son, songs of the sea; the youngest son, tunes about a traveling fiddler; and the farmer, always, songs of the barnyard. But when a terrible drought befalls the land, the farmer must sell his livestock and move to a tiny cottage with only a hedge around it. Though he is heartbroken to lose his animals, he and his sons soon discover something remarkable about their hedge - and something unique about each person who trims its branches.
Author
Paul Fleischman grew up in Santa Monica, California. The son of well-known children's novelist Sid Fleischman, Paul was in the unique position of having his famous father's books read out loud to him by the author as they were being written. This experience continued throughout his childhood. Paul followed in his father's footsteps as an author of books for young readers, and in 1982 he released the book "Graven Images", which was awarded a Newbery Honor citation. In 1988, Paul Fleischman came out with "Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices", an unusually unique collection of poetry from the perspective of insects. This book was awarded the 1989 John Newbery Medal. Factoring in Sid Fleischman's win of the John Newbery Medal in 1987 for his book "The Whipping Boy", Paul and Sid Fleischman became to this day the only father and son authors to both win the John Newbery Medal.
