Stranger in the Pines by May McNeer

On the run. Adam Quinn is a runaway apprentice escaping his master in Philadelphia in the early 1800s. A boy running from the past and a terrible secret. His flight takes him to another state and another world where a person could almost lose himself—but not quite. For there is a constant reminder of the past; a menacing figure he can never quite elude. So he keeps running. First to the small town of Bogquake and to almost happy days where he finds a job in the bogs and meets a girl and her family; then running again and lost days alone in the mysterious pine barrens of southern New Jersey.

Another pause in the journey introduces Adam to Dr. Micah. Living with the wise, old doctor he becomes involved in work with the sick. He learns about the healing powers of herbs and comes to know and love the pines. But always in the background is the threatening presence of the hunter.

Stranger in the Pines traces Adam from the moment he starts running until he stops. It also tells of a boy growing up and coming to terms with his life. And in the course of his story, May McNeer’s text and Lynd Ward’s striking illustrations introduce the reader to the fascinating pine barrens, a region that is almost as remote and strange today as it was in Adam’s time.

Stranger in the Pines is the happily combined work of a distinguished husband and wife team, Lynd Ward (1905 - 1985) and May McNeer Ward (1902 - 1994). May Ward wrote extensively for what she called “medium age” children, chiefly on historical subjects. Lynd Ward, an expert in both woodcut and lithography, illustrated many beautiful limited editions, as well as trade editions of books for both adults and children. The advantages of the close collaboration between author and artist are also strikingly apparent in Up a Crooked River, where the Wards again present a story and pictures that complement and enhance each other to perfection. May McNeer Ward and Lynd Ward are survived by their daughters, Robin Ward Savage and Nanda Ward.