When Little Charlie returns to the island town of New Auckland in British Columbia to build a fire station for the soon-to-arrive fire engine, he astounds everyone, particularly young Leon Mazzei, by being able to remove his thumb.

Leon and his friend Susan live in New Auckland, a small isolated fishing village on the coast of British Columbia. One day, the village receives an unexpected gift from the Government of Canada - a fire truck. But New Auckland is surrounded by mountains and hugs a tiny beach. There are no roads, no cars, no fire hydrants.What will the village do with its new truck? The man who comes to build the fire station brings with him a practical joke that scares the wits out of Leon and Susan - a real live wiggling thumb, completely detached from its owner. Which will leave the biggest mark on the village - the first vehicle most villagers have ever seen, or a simple joke?

Leon and Susan live in an isolated village on the coast of British Columbia, which receives an unexpected gift from the government--a fire truck. The man who comes to build the fire station brings with him a practical joke--a wiggling thumb. It's a toss-up as to which object will leave a bigger impact on the villagers--the first vehicle they've ever seen or the bizarre appendage. Illustrations.

In the isolated Canadian fishing village where best friends Thumb and Susan live, mystery abounds. How did an eighteenth-century cannonball wash ashore? Why does the new schoolteacher wear a wig and pancake make-up? And why, when the village's lone "bad guy" sneaks off into the woods at night, do eerie screaming noises follow?