Bill Cain

This is a coming-of-age story of a boy living in the Depression era of the South. "Boy" (Daniel Lee Robertson III) learns the hard way about the realities of being black, poor and unable to read. But he also learns about the deep love of family, the long-suffering loyalty of a dog and the importance of words, faith, stories & truth.

Arkansas furniture maker Grins Jenkins is a cheerful man and loving father to his five kids, as well as the life of every party in their small town. When his wife Sharon, who used to be the 'bad cop', slowly dies of TBC, so does Grins' sense of fun. The kids refuse to keep mourning forever, but dad practically retires from the world and turns his back, opposing them enjoying life again. Then Christmastide arrives, and son Alvin refuses to let his kid brother's dream be spoiled.

Griffin Byrne is the idealistic new history, English and maths teacher in Father Frank Larkin's school in a mainly Latino ghetto neighborhood where most kids, even many of its graduates, end up in crime and poverty. He takes a particular interest in one of the boys nobody believes will ever come to anything, Lee Cortes, who he finds to be a prodigy in cartoon drawing but who never spoke a word at school, and always wears a Walkman, essentially because of his home situation: his elder brother Tyro, a drug dealer, abuses him and his mother, so he often stays home to mind the smallest siblings. Griffin tries everything to help Lee, despite everyones cynicism, even takes him in his bachelor flat, but finds the whole family situation must be solved, which is probably beyond his power, yet tries tireless, even if he gets nothing but abuse and the results seem to do more hurting then helping...