Tom Whipple

This tale from Newbery Medal–winning author Walter D. Edmonds is based on a story found in Lydia Maria Child’s Letters from New York.

An adventuresome youth determined to travel the world, Tom Whipple leaves his mother in New York and signs up for sea duty on a ship bound for Russia. As he sails, he makes up his mind to see the czar—and to present him with a gift.