About this series
Papa, as they have come to call this proud old Black man, loves his African American heritage. He alternately entertains, then bores his young family when he shares his accumulation of knowledge and his vast collection old photographs, crinkled newspaper clippings, small carvings, African drum and other artifacts, buttons, beads, stones and the like that clutter his bedroom. Among his treasures is ewe, the talking drum. Papa tells outlandish tales about Africa, of the Middle Passage, American slavery, the Underground Railroad and America’s Black people’s struggle for freedom and civil rights, insisting in his singsong Gullah accent: “It be a magical ting!” and “It be for troot!’
At one point, Hoban, who has fair skin (because he’s part Puerto Rican and part Black,) teases his little sister when he notices that some of the individuals in Papa’s collection of photographs of dirt-poor Blacks bear an uncanny resemblance to her and her their little brother.
I came to this story because as a teacher in the inner city I have noticed it is often difficult for 21st Century African American children, or mixed-race children to appreciate what our ancestors have endured for us to exist in the relative comfort of modernity.
One Saturday morning, in Over Ground, Underground, On the Water: a Journey to Freedom, during what seems like a typical Catskill Mountain storm …. there is rain, thunder, and lightning
• Rheena and Zachary are home by themselves,
• Papa has passed away,
• Mom has gone to work,
• Hoban has spent his Friday evening with new friends, and regrettably has not yet come home,
the two MacKey children toy with ewe, the talking drum and are abruptly transported back in time and space to 1847 American, deep into life on a rice Plantation in swampy South Carolina. Not long after they arrive, their older brother Hoban follows them.
The Way Makers series is historical fiction; therefore, we are introduced to actual places, events and people who indeed are America’s history. For example, we discover it is Civil War photographer, Matthew Brady who took the photograph that Hoban teased his sister about. We learn of The Pearl, a schooner that secreted runaway slaves from DC to Baltimore, and of the vibrant community of Black Horsemen and women of Philadelphia that still exists to this day.
In this past, the trio discover firsthand the harsh realities of plantation life. They learn of the cruel humiliation of slavery and the auction block. The children become separated,
• sold off the plantation,
• reunited,
• they escape from dangers seen and unseen.
• they learn what to eat, what not to eat.
• They have unexpected friendships and betrayals that follow runaways on the Underground Railroad.
• They meet Native Americans and Quakers who become allies.
• They discover the salvation of maps in the form of hand-sewn quilts hidden in plain sight.
• They walk, travel by sea, pass through tunnels dug under houses, cellars and church basements in Maryland, Ohio, and New York.
• They meet the Black cowboys of Philadelphia and attend a Pinksters celebration.
• They live in free Black communities in Brooklyn and what is now Central Park in NYC.
All on a Journey to Freedom.
Is their 21st-century urban wit
Titles in the series (2)
- The Waymakers: A Journey to Freedom
1
The 5 book episodic Way Makers series Overground, Underground, On the Water: a Journey to Freedom tells the story of three 21st century African American siblings: Eleven-year old Rheena Mackey, who is recognized by her tenacity and her thick mane of dark curly locks, and her little brother Zachary, who needs medication to help him focus his energy, and their willful older brother, 17-year-old Hoban Cruz, who has a Puerto Rican father. The three siblings are being raised by their single mom and have lived and played in Brooklyn, NY all their young lives. That is, until they are uprooted from their familiar urban life and moved by their mother, to the relatively safer rural Upstate NY Catskills Mountain home of their grandfather. Papa, as they have come to call this proud old Black man, loves his African American heritage. He alternately entertains, then bores his young family when he shares his accumulation of knowledge and his vast collection old photographs, crinkled newspaper clippings, small carvings, African drum and other artifacts, buttons, beads, stones and the like that clutter his bedroom. Among his treasures is ewe, the talking drum. Papa tells outlandish tales about Africa, of the Middle Passage, American slavery, the Underground Railroad and America’s Black people’s struggle for freedom and civil rights, insisting in his singsong Gullah accent: “It be a magical ting!” and “It be for troot!’ At one point, Hoban, who has fair skin (because he’s part Puerto Rican and part Black,) teases his little sister when he notices that some of the individuals in Papa’s collection of photographs of dirt-poor Blacks bear an uncanny resemblance to her and her their little brother. I came to this story because as a teacher in the inner city I have noticed it is often difficult for 21st Century African American children, or mixed-race children to appreciate what our ancestors have endured for us to exist in the relative comfort of modernity. One Saturday morning, in Over Ground, Underground, On the Water: a Journey to Freedom, during what seems like a typical Catskill Mountain storm …. there is rain, thunder, and lightning • Rheena and Zachary are home by themselves, • Papa has passed away, • Mom has gone to work, • Hoban has spent his Friday evening with new friends, and regrettably has not yet come home, the two MacKey children toy with ewe, the talking drum and are abruptly transported back in time and space to 1847 American, deep into life on a rice Plantation in swampy South Carolina. Not long after they arrive, their older brother Hoban follows them. The Way Makers series is historical fiction; therefore, we are introduced to actual places, events and people who indeed are America’s history. For example, we discover it is Civil War photographer, Matthew Brady who took the photograph that Hoban teased his sister about. We learn of The Pearl, a schooner that secreted runaway slaves from DC to Baltimore, and of the vibrant community of Black Horsemen and women of Philadelphia that still exists to this day. In this past, the trio discover firsthand the harsh realities of plantation life. They learn of the cruel humiliation of slavery and the auction block. The children become separated, • sold off the plantation, • reunited, • they escape from dangers seen and unseen. • they learn what to eat, what not to eat. • They have unexpected friendships and betrayals that follow runaways on the Underground Railroad. • They meet Native Americans and Quakers who become allies. • They discover the salvation of maps in the form of hand-sewn quilts hidden in plain sight. • They walk, travel by sea, pass through tunnels dug under houses, cellars and church basements in Maryland, Ohio, and New York. • They meet the Black cowboys of Philadelphia and attend a Pinksters celebration. • They live in free Black communities in Brooklyn and what is now Central Park in NYC. All on a Journey to Freedom. Is their 21st-century urban wit
- There You Have It
2
The 5 book episodic Way Makers series Overground, Underground, On the Water: a Journey to Freedom tells the story of three 21st century African American siblings: Eleven-year old Rheena Mackey, who is recognized by her tenacity and her thick mane of dark curly locks, and her little brother Zachary, who needs medication to help him focus his energy, and their willful older brother, 17-year-old Hoban Cruz, who has a Puerto Rican father. The three siblings are being raised by their single mom and have lived and played in Brooklyn, NY all their young lives. That is, until they are uprooted from their familiar urban life and moved by their mother, to the relatively safer rural Upstate NY Catskills Mountain home of their grandfather. Papa, as they have come to call this proud old Black man, loves his African American heritage. He alternately entertains, then bores his young family when he shares his accumulation of knowledge and his vast collection old photographs, crinkled newspaper clippings, small carvings, African drum and other artifacts, buttons, beads, stones and the like that clutter his bedroom. Among his treasures is ewe, the talking drum. Papa tells outlandish tales about Africa, of the Middle Passage, American slavery, the Underground Railroad and America’s Black people’s struggle for freedom and civil rights, insisting in his singsong Gullah accent: “It be a magical ting!” and “It be for troot!’ At one point, Hoban, who has fair skin (because he’s part Puerto Rican and part Black,) teases his little sister when he notices that some of the individuals in Papa’s collection of photographs of dirt-poor Blacks bear an uncanny resemblance to her and her their little brother. I came to this story because as a teacher in the inner city I have noticed it is often difficult for 21st Century African American children, or mixed-race children to appreciate what our ancestors have endured for us to exist in the relative comfort of modernity. One Saturday morning, in Over Ground, Underground, On the Water: a Journey to Freedom, during what seems like a typical Catskill Mountain storm …. there is rain, thunder, and lightning • Rheena and Zachary are home by themselves, • Papa has passed away, • Mom has gone to work, • Hoban has spent his Friday evening with new friends, and regrettably has not yet come home, the two MacKey children toy with ewe, the talking drum and are abruptly transported back in time and space to 1847 American, deep into life on a rice Plantation in swampy South Carolina. Not long after they arrive, their older brother Hoban follows them. The Way Makers series is historical fiction; therefore, we are introduced to actual places, events and people who indeed are America’s history. For example, we discover it is Civil War photographer, Matthew Brady who took the photograph that Hoban teased his sister about. We learn of The Pearl, a schooner that secreted runaway slaves from DC to Baltimore, and of the vibrant community of Black Horsemen and women of Philadelphia that still exists to this day. In this past, the trio discover firsthand the harsh realities of plantation life. They learn of the cruel humiliation of slavery and the auction block. The children become separated, • sold off the plantation, • reunited, • they escape from dangers seen and unseen. • they learn what to eat, what not to eat. • They have unexpected friendships and betrayals that follow runaways on the Underground Railroad. • They meet Native Americans and Quakers who become allies. • They discover the salvation of maps in the form of hand-sewn quilts hidden in plain sight. • They walk, travel by sea, pass through tunnels dug under houses, cellars and church basements in Maryland, Ohio, and New York. • They meet the Black cowboys of Philadelphia and attend a Pinksters celebration. • They live in free Black communities in Brooklyn and what is now Central Park in NYC. All on a Journey to Freedom. Is their 21st-century urban wit
Related to Way Makers Series
Related ebooks
Gabriel: The Shattered Star Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Hunted and the Haunted Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTales from William F. Nolan's Dark Universe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPolitical Power: Rush Limbaugh Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOdyssey Presents: Gallery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBuilding a Snowman and Five Fables of Adventure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFemale Force: Silver Screen Legends: Barbra Streisand, Elizabeth Taylor, Lucille Ball, Marilyn Monroe and Liza Minnelli Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings10 Things You Should Know About Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMud Pups’ Adventures vol. 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWords of Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStep By Step to Solve Word Problems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJourney through Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTails of Wisdom: Lessons I Learned from My Dogs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVincent Price Presents: Black & White #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJeremiah's Path to Confirmation: And his Pocketbook of seven, nine plus three Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVincent Price Presents: Tales from the Darkness #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMorals for Minions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings100 Hardest Hitting Quotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Way of Courage Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlackbeard Legacy #2 Volume 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIs God In Your Yard? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGlobo Arte July 2022 Issue Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReach Your Dreams: Five Steps to be a Conscious Creator in Your Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVincent Price Presents #04 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwiglet: The Little Christmas Tree Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man in the Mirror Journal: Everything Begins and Ends with You Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaily Dose Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPolitical Power: Joe Biden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vincent Price Presents #31 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlying Saucers Vs. the Earth #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
YA Action & Adventure For You
Restore Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Giver Quartet Omnibus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Toll Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Island of the Blue Dolphins: A Newbery Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sabriel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chain of Gold Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sorcery of Thorns Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daughter of the Siren Queen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rule of Wolves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daughter of the Pirate King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chain of Iron Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Graceling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Door in the Dark Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chain of Thorns Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Supernova Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bone Witch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is Where It Ends Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Six of Crows Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Renegades Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5These Hollow Vows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Heart as Red as Paint: The Winter Souls Series, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All the Stars and Teeth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crooked Kingdom: A Sequel to Six of Crows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cellar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ever the Hunted Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dread Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crown of Feathers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Falconer: Book One of the Falconer Trilogy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5King of Scars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Way Makers Series
0 ratings0 reviews