"Better a Gawgon than a silly old goose", Aunt Annie tells young David when he lets slip his private nickname for her-a mispronunciation of the mythical beast. David is recuperating from a near-fatal illness and must stay out of school and be tutored. To his dismay, old Aunt Annie, a member of his highly eccentric extended family, volunteers. David has always been a dreamer, thinking up and losing himself in adventures. His dread of the sharp-tongued old lady turns first to surprise and then admiration as she proves to be imaginative, irreverent, and downright extraordinary. Soon his witty companion costars in his fantasies, as The Gawgon and The Boy vanquish emperors, scale mountains, fool the gods. By turns tender and raucous, with something for everyone, Alexander's timeless storytelling magically recreates a time past.