In a diary entry from 1879, Mark Twain described a typical evening with his young daughters, both demanding a story. Over several nights Twain invented a fairy tale about Johnny, a poor boy in possession of magical seeds. He wrote up some details from the story but left the work unfinished—five pages of notes, filed away, lost to time. But a century later, a scholar at UC Berkeley took interest, and a new book was born . . . Enter Philip Stead and Erin Stead, author and illustrator of the Caldecott Medal winning A Sick Day for Amos McGee. With only Twain's incomplete story, Philip Stead created a tale that imagines what might have been if Twain had fully realized this work. Framed as a story "told to me by my friend, Mr. Mark Twain," and occasionally interrupted by an imagined meeting over tea between Stead and an impatient Twain, Stead picks up the story of poor Johnny and his quest to save a stolen prince with the help of a cast of talking animals. Illuminated by Erin Stead's graceful, humorous, and achingly poignant artwork, the result of this extraordinary combination of talent both classic and contemporary marks a major event in children's publishing. With themes of charity, kindness, and honor, and with sharply drawn satire and tear-inducing pathos, this is a story that reaches through time and brings us a new work from America's most legendary writer, imagined through the monumental talent of two of today's most important names in children's literature. A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year "Will capture the imaginations of readers of all ages."—USA Today "Drawn with a graceful crosshatched intelligence that seems close to the best of Wyeth."—The New York Times "Artful and meta and elegant."—The Wall Street Journal "Should inspire readers young and old to seek further adventures with Twain."—The Washington Post