Journey to Jericho Author:Scott O'Dell, Leonard Weisgard (Illustrator) The journey begins in the poor mining country of West Virginia, where small David hopes that one day he will be a coal-miner like his father and his grandfather. But after an explosion in the mine, David's father leaves to look for safer work elsewhere. When he sends for the family to join him in Jericho, California, the journey begins. The stor... more »y focuses on the terrible risks of mining, on a small boy's yearning for his father, and of the difficulties of leaving the familiar for the unknown. It also focuses on a jar of Grandma May's prize-winning pickles, which David is entrusted to guard.« less