It's 1377 in a bleak town in England, and young Crispin's mother has just died, leaving him alone in the world with nothing but a hovel and a friendship with the town priest. Quickly though those two possessions are dispatched through some dark intrigue. Crispin flees the village with a cross of lead from his mother and a price on his head. Who is Crispin and why is anyone trying to kill him? Crispin sets out to find the answers and along the way he meets a juggler, Bear, and becomes his apprentice. They travel along the road together and make their way to the city, where Crispin is mysteriously still pursued by the forces that caused him to flee his village, and Bear is embroiled in a plot to improve the plight of the poor. This book is the 2003 winner of the Newbery Medal. 320 pages Ages 9-13