Tomochichi's Gift

Lennie is an orphan. His father, James L. Lenhart, served as a Navy chaplain aboard the USS Cumberland. The frigate was struck broadside by a Confederate ironclad on March 8, 1862. The next year, influenza swept through Aquidneck Island, and Lennie's devout Quaker mother was one of its victims. Lennie is nearly ten when he is sent from his native Rhode Island to live with his Aunt Millie in Sunfish, Ohio. His family is convinced he'll be safe in Ohio from the uncertainties of war, yet along...