"bobby bauman ain’t doin nothin wrong. just goin out for a wander on a saturday which everbody knows is allowed cause everbody knows that it ain’t a school day and everbody knows it ain’t the sabbath cept for the adventists but sometimes bobby seen greg mckinley walkin round on a saturday even though he’s a adventist so maybe even the adventists say it’s all right to walk round on a saturday which means everbody knows it is and not even Sir could be upset bout it. besides bobby has his new brown cord-o-roy trousers on even though he never did hear who roy was or how he made a pair o trousers from a cord and ain’t no one in newberg usa can fuss bout a boy with new brown cord-o-roy trousers on. and yes maybe his red shirt the one with the stripes on it not the other one has a little bit o dirt on it but if bobby scrunches up his eyes real tight-like then he can’t much see the dirt anyhow. bobby’s buster browns are even tied nice so the laces won’t drag in the dirt and his black socks only been worn twice since their last washin so they’s basickly clean. no bobby bauman ain’t doin nothin wrong and that’s the god’s honest so help me jesus amen."

Meet Bobby Bauman, a six-year-old boy surviving a chaotic, violent childhood in 1950s rural Oregon. Journey into the mind of a child as Bobby faces danger, wonder, joy, and grief.