Poor Hans was always getting hurt and was clumsy with tools in the family carpentry business. Though he loved to read, school was a difficult struggle and his teacher punished him for not learning his lessons. "Why did God make such a good-for-nothing?" Hans wondered. "What's the point of Hans being in school when he could be earning money?" his harsh father thought. But God doesn't make mistakes and He has a beautiful plan for Hans. Taught to love God by his godly grandmother, Hans grows through his trials and finds his life's purpose.Set in the Black Forest of Germany, The Little Preacher departs from most Prentiss books which take place in her own New England region. This gives the book a unique flavor and we see a glimpse into 19th-century German peasant life.