The Journeyman
Elizabeth Yates is the author of sixteen novels and fifteen nonfiction books for young people. She is perhaps best known for Amos Fortune, Free Man, which won the Newbery Medal. Among her many other awards are the William Allen White Children's Book Award, the Sara Josepha Hale Award, and the Governor's Award of Distinction. In 1987 the New Hampshire House of Representatives saluted her with an award for lifelong achievement.The story of Jared Austin began when Elizabeth Yates moved into a New Hampshire farmhouse built over a hundred and fifty years ago. While she and her husband were restoring the house, they discovered that two rooms were decorated with stenciled designs of flowers, oak leaves, pineapples, and little hearts. In pursuing the story behind the designs, the author found a tale of faith and courage, and she came to admire and respect the journeyman painters of New England.