Wind That Knocks Down Lodges loves his Apache mother Shining Waters, his grandfather Chief Strawberry Moon, his baby sister Cactus Flower and the wildness of the desert canyonland they call home. He has even developed a rough-hewn trust for Cactus Flower’s father, the pale face soldier from the fort that their mother loves. In one night of gross misunderstanding and novice mistakes, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower’s innocent young world is broken and shaken before they find themselves locked in the soldier fort with the pale faces and their mother’s lifeless body. With no one to lean on but each other and the fragile balance between the Apache and the soldiers irreparably upset, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower must make their way as children of The People in the pale face world – pale faces who have now become the enemy.
Excerpt:
Something wasn’t right. The night animals ceased
their songs in unison, and another troublesome cloud shrouded the moon. An icy
shiver trickled down my backbone to the tune of silence. The happy drumming
coming from the camp, telling the world of the birth of Red Lake’s firstborn
son, had slowed to a stop. I froze, pulling Cactus Flower back onto her bottom.
She rose from the hard-packed earth, her bottom lip puffed out and her inky
eyebrows knitted together above her eyes. Before she could open her mouth to
speak, a flock of beating wings sent me cowering, nose first, into the dirt
beside her.
“Knocks
Down, why did those birds –”
Instinctively,
I slapped my hand over her mouth, taking care enough to be gentle. No sooner
had she quieted, than another sound echoed through the solemn night air.
“Halt!
Who goes there?”
I
slipped my finger over my lips, wordlessly instructing Cactus Flower to remain
silent. She nodded and I removed my hand from over her mouth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR—SARA BARNARD
Sara Barnard is the mother of four
beautiful children and wife to a handsome Texan. She earned her BA in European
History in 2006 is now pursuing her MA in her spare time, as well as her
teacher certification.
Sara has been struck by the Indian
Em'ly legend since her first visit to Fort Davis, Texas at the tender age of 8.
Some of her other writings include Christian fiction, Amish fiction, children's
fiction and children's nonfiction, as well as Civil War romance. Look for the
three other books in the Indian Em'ly series; On the Colorado Trail, The
Orphanage, and Coming Home, all coming soon from Painted Pony Books!
Sara and her family make their home
in the far reaches of west Texas with three rescue dogs (two from Italy, one
from Texas) and three rescue cats (one from Colorado, one from Oklahoma, and
one from Texas) amid the jackalopes, tumbleweeds, and of course, lots and lots
of oil.
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What a great way to tell the stories of the conflict and resolutions in our history to young people. Congratulations and thank you. Doris
ReplyDeleteThank you Doris! The story of Indian Em'ly and her tragic ending has been inspirational to me for years. This is one woman in our history who deserves to be remembered!
DeleteDoris, you are our winner for the free digital copy! Please send me your email (sarathreesuns@gmail.com) and I can award it to you!
DeleteThis will be a lot of fun. Great chance to write about Apache family life in a non-typical way. Looking forward to it!
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy this series Richard! I look forward to using them in my classroom next year!
DeleteTerrific excerpt! What an exciting new line of books. I love how you are making history relevant to kids, Sara. Happy trails.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tanya! I love history and had sooooo many boring history teachers (mostly football coaches) through my school years. When you get one who is passionate about bringing the subject to life (and who wouldn't be?? hehe) it can be a game changer for life!
DeleteSara, love this story of Indian Em'ly. Can't wait for more about Cactus Flower and Knocks Down.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I had mainly coaches for my history teachers. But one of them, my jr. year, began to infuse little pieces of trivia in with the history lessons. That made me perk up a bit--we still had a lot of memorizing of names and dates, but some of the tidbits were interesting enough to get me "going" on my love of history. Then, my sr. year, we moved to WV, and I had a coach who taught World Cultures. That was their way of getting to teach Christianity in school--we learned about many other cultures, but spent the most time on the Christian cultures in different parts of the world. LOL But it was great, because it was history, and the guy really knew his stuff and loved teaching it. By the time I went to college I was loving history so much I was thinking of majoring in it. But ended up minoring instead, cause my love of literature won out. LOL But it's true--one or two teachers along the way with a love of their subject matter can change so much for their students.
Cheryl
I couldn't agree more, Cheryl! All it takes is one or two. I can still remember my favorite history teachers and even an English and Science teacher in there. Funny thing though, all I remember about Math is people writing on the board and some throwing erasers.
DeleteI am so glad you love the series. Book 2, On the Colorado Trail, is coming at you soon!
Congratulations, Doris! You are going to enjoy this story--oh, I know it's for MG readers, but Sara has a way of storytelling that is going to make you want more of this series. Wish I had kids to buy it for!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cheryl!! :-)
DeleteI loved the excerpt. It sent a chill down my spine, too. When things go suddenly silent, I figure something really bad is out there.
ReplyDeleteThe story line is so intriguing. What will ever become of these two children?
I wish you every success with your new release.
Oh. should you run across one of those thar jackalopes, be sure to post a picture of it.
All the best to you, Sarah
Thanks Sarah!!!! I will be on the lookout for a jackalope pic to post ! :-)
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