When Ma, the Kid, her twelve year old son, and Jake, the hired man, first appeared on the pages of Maclean's and shortly after on CBC Radio, the lively boy and his cranky hero found their way into the hearts of thousands of readers.

In this new edition of Jake and the Kid, we encounter the glorious minutia of small town life on the Canadian prairie. Jake and the Kid are surrounded by an entire community of richly eccentric characters: old Sam Gatenby, a rival to Jake and just as cantankerous; Miss Henchbaw, the stern, proper Rabbit Hill schoolteacher; and Repeat Golightly, the town's philosophizing barber.

Touching and laugh-out-loud funny in equal measure, Mitchell delivers a vibrant setting, a compelling cast of characters, and everyday events that speak directly to what it means to be human.