J.C is a bird dog who is not quite sure what to do with his nose, and he really wants to just cuddle, but one day he discovers how to hunt quail, and he makes his family very happy.
In 1957, problems at the mine threaten to ruin Christmas for fifth-grader Don, his family, and the rest of their Oklahoma coal town, but Don's bloodhound, Frank, is determined to do whatever it takes to make the holiday special for Don and his six-year-old sister, Susan. Alternate chapters are told from the human and canine points of view.
