Originally published by Houghton Mifflin, it tells the story of a young boy, David, who must learn to adapt to living with others after the death of his recluse father; along the way, the villagers and his adoptive parents adopt as much or more to him. Though criticized by reviewers as "mush" and "too perfectly lovely, "the novel was very popular in the early half of the twentieth century in middle and high schools, and has recently seen a number of reprints. The novel is translated in Chinese (1959) and Russian (2005).