From the 2001 hardback edition (Jesse Stuart Foundation):

Appalachia. Few define it with the same degree of kinship and sensitivity as Jesse Stuart. His novels, short stories, poetry, and articles depict his part of the Kentucky hills—their people, their traditions, and their integrity.

Come Back to the Farm is a collection of sixteen stories which reflect Appalachia at its essence; most often they are gentle in tone, but they portray the pioneer spirit, the self-reliance, and the humor of the hill people of Stuart’s Kentucky homeland. “Maybelle’s First-Born” illustrates the superstition often found in Appalachia. Others reminisce of former days and lost youth, as in “Victory and the Dream.” All have a reverence for the land, its creeks, trees, fields, and inhabitants.

Jesse Stuart (1906-1984) was one of America’s best-known and best-loved writers. During his lifetime he published more than 2,000 poems, 460 short stories, and nine novels. His more than 60 published books include biography, autobiography, essays, and juvenile works as well as poetry and fiction. These books have immortalized the Kentucky hill country that inspired his writing. His teaching experience ranged from the one-room schoolhouses of his youth to the American University in Cairo, Egypt, and embraced years of service as school superintendent, high school teacher, and high school principal. “First, last, always,” said Jesse Stuart, “I am a teacher.... Good teaching is forever, and the teacher is immortal.”