William Pène du Bois

Relates the incredible adventures of Professor William Waterman Sherman who in 1883 sets off in a balloon across the Pacific, survives the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa, and is eventually picked up in the Atlantic.

The ingenuity of ten-year-old Bottsford enables the three policemen of an isolated idyllic isle to catch the thieves who have been stealing the islanders' fish and fishing nets.

Follows the lives of Billy and his stuffed bear companion, from childhood to old age.