It was on the night of the hurricane that it all began. Judy, whose parents were dead, had come to live with Aunt Kate and Uncle Walter in the spring, and until this September night she had not known how a really big blow could turn the peaceful Maine seacoast country into a wild and alarming place. The jar and creak of the house, bucking like a ship in a cross sea, the steady, savage roar in the chimney, were terrifying noises to the little city girl. At the height of the storm there came an ominous cracking sound, followed by a violent, jarring crash that made the whole house shudder and sway. Judy was sure the roof had blown away, but Aunt Kate assured her it was only a big maple going down. Seeing how frightened the child was, she held her close, and in the safety and comfort of Aunt Kate's arms Judy's fears subsided. It was then that she silently vowed that for Christmas she would give her aunt a present she really wanted, something that she would never buy for herself.

How Judy earned the money for her gift is the major theme of this electric story, but intermingling with it are the minor themes of wind and weather, the gales of autumn and the snows of winter, which Judy learned to live and cope with. There are also the adventures she shared with her friend David, all of them colored and accented by Miss Ladd's extraordinary ability to bring the natural world to life on the pages of a book.

From the dust jacket