After tumbling off back of a wagon, Jip was brought to live at the town poor farm. He has been content to do chores and tend animals -- until the day the lunatic arrives. ut seems terrifying and less than human, but as the weeks pass. Jip sees the man he truly is. So, when a menacing stranger comes to town, claiming to have been sent by Jip's grieving father, Jip turns to his new friend to make sense of his past. Jip is another triumph from Katherine Paterson -- and fans of her Lyddie are in for a special surprise.