"The story of Sam Bixby, a curious nine-year-old. On a fishing trip to northern Minnesota, he ignores his father's advice, explores an abandoned farmhouse, bumps his head, and winds up in another world. There, a sage teaches Sam how to transform himself into anything he beholds; a bumblebee, robin, even a cloud. Sam sets off on a journey filled with danger and wonder. He befriends a revved-up squirrel and must survive evil crow-men, imprisonment, and near-death to find a magic pool that will take him back to his father and home"--Cover, p. 4.