Billy Bardin and the Witness Tree is the account of a boy's 
quest to save an important piece of Arlington, Texas, history 
and in the process convince his recently widowed grandfather
how important he really is.

     The novel is based on the real efforts to save the Witness 
Tree in 1991. Billy Bardin's quest begins when K-Mart plans to 
develop a shopping center at the site of the five-hundred-year-
old tree. As Billy studies the tree's history for a school assignment,
his grandfather tells him about his career laying out roads and
racetracks as a surveyor. Grandpa shows Billy his beautiful old
brasstransit, the instrument he used to survey land, and explains
how the Witness Tree was the point from which all property in
Arlington was measured. Billy's mother inadvertently gives the
transit to a church rummage sale, and Billy sets off to recover it,
save the tree, and restore Grandpa's dignity.

_________________________________________________________

A retired creative writing teacher, MARY E. PENSON makes her 
home in Arlington, Texas. She taught writing in Illinois high schools
for seventeen years.  Penson is the author of You're an Orphan,
Mollie Brown and has published a number of short stories.


A Chaparral Book for Young Readers