Pearl and her brother, Frances, go on summer vacation each year with their adventurous grandparents. This year, they’re going to Alaska. The only glitch, if that is what it can be called, is that CJ is going too. He is the foster kid their grandparents are taking care of until his father gets well.

After hiking along the historic Chilkoot Trail, Pearl, Frances, and CJ have no choice but to rely on each other when they are taken astray by a gruegle, a keeper of the forest. They work to help all the gruegles save the trees from sickness and escape from the tyrannical Grand Gruegle. In the process, they experience the magnificence of the forest. They discover that trees look after each other through an amazing symbiotic relationship which mirrors relationships in their own families.

At the end of the book is a list of questions that relate to science, social studies, vocabulary, and reading/comprehension. Educators can use this resource to ascertain the reader’s understanding of various subject matter.