Stephen Foster and His Little Dog, Tray

Behind the gentle sadness of such songs as Old Black Joe, My Old Kentucky Home and Old Folks At Home, lies the dreaming, home-loving spirit of the man who wrote them-Stephen Collins Foster. Behind the rollicking tunes with which these were interspersed lies all the fun-loving gayety which so richly colored and warmed young Stephy's happy companionship with his devoted older brother, Mit, throughout their happy boyhood...

Here in this story of a typical American boyhood are quick, intimate glimpses of young Stephen as he trotted off to the Negro church beside Lieve, the Negro bound girl; as he played with his beloved dog; and raced along beside a minstrel band. Here is the young boy, growing up with music in his heart and a warm, out-reaching friendliness for everyone with whom he came in contact, a boy who becomes vividly alive in the pages of a most delightful book...