Orphaned in the 1930s at the age of five, Forrest Carter went to live with his Cherokee grandparents in the mountains of Tennessee. The education he describes in this book was not formal instruction, but an ancient native wisdom and a way of life that is not to be found in the institutions of the modern world. From his grandparents' reverence for the land and for all living creatures, "Little Tree" learns an awareness of the great cycles of the natural world (from seasonal changes to the spiral of life and death) and a sense of honour combined with humour.