The Treasure in the Tiny Blue Tin

When twelve-year-old Max Miller immigrates to Texas in 1912, he wants to reunite with his family and forget the old country where they were persecuted for being Jewish and where his two brothers died in an epidemic. The family lives above Max’s uncle’s store, and Max, on a treasured new bicycle, makes deliveries for his uncle.

Unlike Joe Hollis, the blacksmith’s son who taunts Max for being a Jewish greenhorn, Max likes school, doesn’t know how to swim or fish, and is afraid of horses.

When his papa, a peddler, doesn’t come home for Passover, Max fears he may be a victim of an outbreak of meningitis north of the city. In spite of his fears, he rides his bicycle out of town in search of his father. Joe Hollis follows him and joins him on his journey. Building understanding with Joe is the first of many challenges Max faces in untamed Texas, but he’s unwavering in his determination to bring his father home safely, where they can share the joy and hope of becoming Americans.