Branded as traitors by the king's authorities, Crispin and his guardian, Bear, flee to coastal towns in fourteenth-century England, where they perform a musical juggling act and bond as a family after befriending a disfigured girl.

As long as I could keep myself out of bondage, I would be true to Bear's teaching. And so it was that beyond all else, I was determined to keep my freedom.

After the death of their beloved mentor, Bear, Crispin and Troth are more desperate than ever, wandering the desolate French countryside, where they don't speak the language and know no one. The only hope they cling to is that somehow they can reach Iceland, where Bear had said there were

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Newbery Medal winner The Cross of Lead is "a page-turner from beginning to end ... full of adventure, mystery, and action" (School Library Journal). Sometimes I ran, sometimes all I could do was walk. All I knew was that if the steward overtook me, I'd not survive for long. ... Crispin is a poor thirteen-year-old peasant in medieval England. Accused of a crime he did not commit, he has been declared a "wolf's head," meaning he may be killed on sight,...