Poverty and war form the historical backdrop for a stunningly sweet and joyous account of one boy's youth in wild and unusual places.

The Indian communities of the 1930s and '40s in the Klamath Mountains. The small railroad towns in California's Central Valley during the Depression. These are the places that hold rich stories of life and times now almost forgotten. Except in the memories of a boy who experienced the adventure of living them.

As the only white boy in an all-Indian school, young Paul Jennings developed strong relationships with his Native American classmates and neighbors. Those friendships produced sometimes bizarre, always character-shaping experiences Paul would never forget.

An unexpected move threw Paul into a new set of circumstances that spawned his lively true stories of innocence in the time of the Depression, the historic migration of the "Okies" from the Dust Bowl in the Midwest to California's agricultural fields, and World War II.

Thanks to his family's unshakable faith in God, Paul survived and thrived in challenging times that shaped a generation.