This is the life story of Martha Berry, the courageous founder of an exciting new kind of school for the poor mountain children of Georgia.

Martha Berry had lived all her life near her father's farm in a big white house called Oak Hill on the fertile plain of Georgia, but when she grew up she decided she was going to try to do something to help the poor children who lived in the Appalachian Mountains not far from her home.

At first Miss Berry started some Sunday schools. Then she began weekday classes, but before long she began dreaming of a new kind of school for the mountain boys. It would be a school where they could live month after month. They would not only learn how to read and write, but would also plant crops and take care of the livestock. By doing the work themselves, the boys would learn how to farm.

Martha Berry's dream came true. Through hard work, persistence, and faith her tiny new school grew and grew. Before long there was a girls' school as well, and although Martha Berry died in 1942, her schools stand today as a shining example of her innovative approach to education.

From the dust jacket