Pearl Plankette ran away from her home to escape an abusive father and unhappy future. Disguised and reborn as a boy named Soupy, she hitches her star to an unlikely hobo and they begin their journey from the cold heartbreak of their eastern homes toward the sunny promise of California in this train-hopping, depression-era coming-of-age tale.

Now includes an educator’s guide written by Meryl Jaffe, PhD