A Grammy® nominee.Fourteen-year-old Gary, a self-described 'tree toad'—lover of a perfect lawn, the soft-porn masterpiece Carnal Cuties, his Underwood typewriter, and, above all, his rebellious cousin Kate'—lives through one amazing Lake Wobegon summer. Gary preoccupies himself by spinning fantastic yarns about boogers, talking dogs, conversations between God and Jesus, and especially melodramas featuring himself as hero and Kate as distressed damsel.

When the real Kate makes a terrible mistake, Gary learns a lot about love, heartbreak, and what is really means to rebel.

In Lake Wobegon Summer 1956, Garrison Keillor describes the making of a writer who comes of age in classic Wobegon style. It's just what his fans have been waiting for: trademark wit, brilliant humor, great storytelling, and an extended stay in 'the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve.'