The Beatinest Boy

Grandma Beverley is fond of saying that David is the "beatinest" boy who ever grew up in the valley. And David is sure that his grandmother is the smartest, most wonderful woman in the world.

They help one another and learn from one another. David teaches Grandma Beverley how to let the wind rake the leaves they need to make the cow's stall warm and dry. Grandma Beverley helps him nurse a homeless, starving puppy, "Orphan" back to health.

David is grateful to her for helping him save Orphan, and he wants to make her the happiest woman in the world. He wants to find a special Christmas present for her. When his ideas for earning money do not work out, he gets an idea for a beautiful and perfect gift he can make for his grandmother from materials that have been right at hand all the time.

The Beatinest Boy is a story out of Jesse Stuart's native Appalachian Kentucky, about people he knew best -- people like Grandma Beverley in her long, high-collared dresses; redbearded Boliver Tussie, hunter and herb-gatherer; and David, a hard-working, adventuresome boy. Just as David makes his Christmas gift from materials right at hand, Jesse Stuart has made this story from the experiences of his own life. Like David, Stuart knew the smell of woodsmoke, the sight and sound of bees around a wild bee tree, and the sound of hounds trailing possums and coons. His story has the richness and beauty of golden honey made from autumn flowers.