Just David by Eleanor H. Porter

By Al R. Young

In Just David by Eleanor H. Porter, David is no ordinary boy. Orphaned and wandering, he falls asleep in the barn of a farm to which his travel takes him. The farmer and his wife, bereft of their own son, take David in and raise him. The adjustment on both sides supplies much of the tension in the narrative, and a good bit of humor. David's talents and disposition also set him apart from his new-found home and from the community as a whole. The old violin he brings with him into these circumstances is his only link with the past.

Among other things, the story is a story of the magic of heaven's gifts and how they shape those whom they touch. The book is written with the prowess characteristic of Eleanor H. Porter, but becomes a bit lugubrious as it draws to an end.