Will is trying to fish, but younger sister Mabel keeps scaring them away asking questions, like, "What makes it rain?" and, "Where does the wind come from?" Lillian Two Blossom, an old Indian woman, offers to take the children for a boat ride to find the answers. Once they row to the center of Kalaska Pond the boat lifts out of the water, and Lillian, suddenly young again, is guiding them through the heavens, answering Mabel's earlier questions.

Bright summery paintings surrounded with white space depict a quiet day in the country, with blue lake, green fields, and children dressed as in an earlier time. Once the boat takes off for the sky, the paintings begin to fill the pages completely, showing how a school of bright fish brings the rain, scampering raccoons bring the night, and the polar bear spirit carries the moon across the heavens.

Based in part on an incident in the author’s family history, this delightful mix of folklore and realism gives a lazy summer day an energizing shot of fantasy.