So begins Conover's reinvention of the popular nursery song, illustrated with lovely, nostalgic, detail-rich pictures of Tom's anthropomorphized otter family and other creatures great and small--the high-fashion lady snail is not to be missed. Come join the fun as Tom, an otter pup, sets out on a merry journey through the various seasons, enchanting young and old alike with his exuberant piping. 

Additional old-fashioned silhouette paintings convey the sense of movement in Tom's years-long, musical, cross-country journey. Along the way, Tom delights fish and fowl alike with his one song. Among his charmed listeners are raccoons, rabbits, pigs, and a well-dressed snail -- but the most charmed of all is Molly, who accepts his hand in marriage and whom he later marries. 

They have an otter pup of their own that happily carries on Tom's Johnny-one-note tradition. Musical annotation for "Over the Hills and Far Away" (for piano and guitar) is included, along with the seven stanzas of lyrics that the book comprises. The endpapers show Tom Piper's family tree and a map of his journey.