This is the story of plucky, optimistic newsboy Michael O’Halloran. Michael was orphaned at a young age and asks nothing of the world but to "Be Square!" In this a warm and joyous story, he makes life sunnier for those around him, bringing joy to all who know him, and to readers everywhere.
The novel offers a unique view of America in the 1910s and was turned into a movie three times: in 1923, 1937 and 1948.

Gene Stratton-Porter (1863-1924) was an American writer, wildlife photographer, naturalist, and one of the first women to form a movie studio and production company. She wrote for several national magazines in the United States, and many of her novels went on to become bestsellers and have been widely translated. She used her position and income to support the conservation of Limberlost Swamp and other wetland areas in the state of Indiana. She is remembered for novels such as "Freckles," "Laddie," and "Michael O’Halloran." Her novel "A Girl of the Limberlost" was adapted four times as a film, most recently in 1990 in a made-for-TV version. Her "The Keeper of the Bees" has also been adapted four times to the silver screen.