Description: At six years old, Patsie, the youngest Dunker child, realizes that all 12 of her brothers and sisters are named after relatives or close friends -- everyone except Patsie. The thought strikes her: I must be adopted! In that case, she has to find proof, which means venturing into forbidden territory. In her search for the truth, Patsie gets the fright of her life.

The author, grown-up Patsie, recalls many such delightful stories from spending her first nine years of life on the Illinois bank of the Mississippi River, just across from Mark Twain's Hannibal, Missouri. Mom Dunker runs a proper house and Dad the farm, all without electricity and running water. Mom is described as "death on bugs" and fears water, to the dismay of her river-loving children. Dad labors tirelessly to turn the farm into a prosperous one after the neglect of previous tenants.

Young Patsie shares tender stories of growing up in a simpler era, a time when large families are a blessing, not an oddity. As one can imagine, 13 children in one close-knit family leads to many adventures and escapades, as well as much hard work. The whooping cough siege, Dad's Christmas Jell-o, skinny-dipping in the river, a gruesome corpse, sparrows in a brother's wedding bed, and a marauding tomcat called Slick Blue keep things interesting.

Through hard times and good ones, life and love fill the Dunker home. Patsie's memories (and recipes) bring readers into the warm circle of her family's life in the 1930s and 1940s and underscore the values of hearth and home.

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