This is a charming story for older children depicting the life of an American missionary family in Lebanon. Although some of the events may be fictitious, the children, the old house, and the village of Shemlan are all real, as are details like the oak tree with the concrete-filled hollow, the vineyard terraces, the missing stair railing, the fossils, Slanty Rocks, and quartz-rich Crystal Mountain itself. Set in the early part of this (20th) century, the author describes the childhood adventures of herself and of her siblings with village residents and in the surrounding hills. The nostalgic feeling is reinforced by delightful illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard of Winnie-the-Pooh fame. It is sad to note that the house, built by a feudal lord in the 1860s, was severely damaged during the war in the 1980s, and many of the trees were cut.