Summary
Blynn Lehman, one of nine children living in 1917 Pasadena, California, faces a year full of challenges: His older brother announces that he has received a draft notice from the Army; and his father informs the family that pay cuts and the economic struggles of the time compels them to tighten their belts and do what they can to make it through their present financial struggles. As Blynn watches his older siblings start working and saving, he decides to lead the younger kids in an attempt to help the family survive. An overheard conversation leads Blynn to believe that composing a hit song could make big money, and since his father has already begun writing a song about the love of God, Blynn and his siblings try to help their father finish the song. Their comical failed attempts to write a verse for the song cause Blynn to realize that he doesn't understand what it means to love God. When Blynn stumbles across the perfect verse to finish the song, the hunt for the author begins, leading them from an old asylum to a scholarly Rabbi where they learn that an ancient Jewish Rabbi living in Germany during the time of the first crusade originally composed the verse that they are now using to complete their father's song. When the family receives news that their oldest brother has died in the war, Blynn's struggle to understand God's love comes to a climax. Ultimately, Blynn learns what it means to love God and others.
