Bea is just trying to survive during the Great Depression and keep her younger sister, Vivian, safe. When their father abandons them in a hayloft, claiming that the owner of the house will take them in because she is good-hearted, Bea can hardly believe it. Strangers take them in during hard times? Luckily, Mrs. Scott is pretty good-hearted, even if not totally trusting along the way. Other friends of Mrs. Scott, Ralph and Malachi, help ease the way, along with a rambunctious chestnut horse. This book shows the power of community and friendship in hard times. I will say as an adult reading it in 2025, I did not find it as relaxing as I had hoped, but it was still a good story.