David is an eleven-year-old with a vivid imagination and a talent for drawing. After recovering from a serious case of pneumonia, his family decides he shouldn't return to school. Instead his elderly Aunt Annie, who David secretly nicknames "the gawgon", becomes his tutor. David imagines that she'll be strict and crabby, and he'll be kept so busy learning all kinds of boring subjects that he won't have time to spin his tales of fantasy. But David is pleasantly surprised when Aunt Annie turns out to be his most amazing --- and most fun --- teacher ever. In fact, "the gawgon" becomes a main character in his fantasies, and together they go on adventures where they encounter historical figures like Napoleon and Leonardo Da Vinci.

Alexander's story of THE GAWGON AND THE BOY is somewhat biographical as he describes the life of a boy growing up in Philadelphia in the early 1900s. Tales of fantasy are woven into the story of this charming but eccentric family and the boy with the creative mind.