How Frugal Is the Chariot - Paperback

by Geraldine Glodek (Author)

Annilee's father is no one's idea of a hero. Alec is a disabled, church-defying coalminer who no longer gives a damn what the priests, nuns, or neighbors think. They don't walk in his shoes. The head injury he got at work has rendered him too forgetful to keep any kind of job. Ashamed that he can't earn his keep at home-much less feed five kids-he won't live there. He has moved into a shack at a colliery that shut down ten years ago, during World War II.

People urge his wife to put him away. No matter how odd he looks to anybody else, Annilee, seven, loves hanging out in his shack and relishes his talk of a friendly God who loves the smell of sweet ferns. She's thrilled that he still comes home to help with homework, play cards, and do chores. Alec doesn't live long enough to shepherd his children into adulthood. But when Annilee comes face to face with what terrified her most as a child, she may find that Pop's legacy, his utter disregard of hurtful conventions, is her greatest source of strength. (250 pages)