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Cherokee Boy
It is 1838. The Army has orders to remove the Cherokee nation from Georgia and the Carolinas so that white settlers can take over the Indians' rich land. While his father and other important men of the tribe are in Washington to appeal this harsh sentence, fifteen-year-old Tsi-ya, the Otter, has been hurriedly sent to the Secret Place of the wise man of the Cherokees. Tsi-ya reaches the hidden valley where the sage lives. But when he returns with word for his people to seek refuge in the Secret Place the soldiers have already arrived. Tsi-ya, with his mother and brother, is sent to the stockade. With relatives and friends he awaits the beginning of a long march west.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1957
About the author
Alexander Key
59 books100 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
An American science fiction writer, most of whose books were aimed at a juvenile audience. He became a nationally known illustrator before he became an author. After he began writing novels for young people, he moved his family to the North Carolina mountains, and most of his books include that wild and rugged landscape.
His novel Escape to Witch Mountain was made into a popular film in 1975 and again in 1995. His novel The Incredible Tide became a popular anime series, Future Boy Conan.
He is known for his portrayals of alien but human-like people who have psychic powers and a close communion with nature, and who can speak with animals. In The Strange White Doves, he professed his belief that animals are conscious and aware, and have subtle ways of communicating, perhaps via telepathy.
The protagonists of Key's books are often ostracized, feared, or persecuted due to their abilities or alien origin, and Key uses this as a clear metaphor for racism and other prejudice. In several of the books (most notably The Case of the Vanishing Boy,) Key portrays some sort of communal withdrawing from society with a group of like-minded individuals. - Wikipedia -
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
An American science fiction writer, most of whose books were aimed at a juvenile audience. He became a nationally known illustrator before he became an author. After he began writing novels for young people, he moved his family to the North Carolina mountains, and most of his books include that wild and rugged landscape.
His novel Escape to Witch Mountain was made into a popular film in 1975 and again in 1995. His novel The Incredible Tide became a popular anime series, Future Boy Conan.
He is known for his portrayals of alien but human-like people who have psychic powers and a close communion with nature, and who can speak with animals. In The Strange White Doves, he professed his belief that animals are conscious and aware, and have subtle ways of communicating, perhaps via telepathy.
The protagonists of Key's books are often ostracized, feared, or persecuted due to their abilities or alien origin, and Key uses this as a clear metaphor for racism and other prejudice. In several of the books (most notably The Case of the Vanishing Boy,) Key portrays some sort of communal withdrawing from society with a group of like-minded individuals. - Wikipedia -
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 20, 2008
This fictional account of the Cherokee forced migration which came to be known as the Trail of Tears, is a story of a young Cherokee boy in 1838 who escapes the migration and journeys back five hundred miles with his family and many people relying on him to find their secret place of refuge from the white man.
I think Key is successful in creating a memorable story and characters that young people can relate to. Much like his well-known Escape to Witch Mountain, Key shows there will always be good and evil people in the world. The young Cherokee boy finds that although the Army captain who is carrying out the forced migration is evil and uncaring, other whites who help him along the way show him that not all the white men are bad.
Key is very successful at creating stories about young people who are resourceful and courageous.
I think Key is successful in creating a memorable story and characters that young people can relate to. Much like his well-known Escape to Witch Mountain, Key shows there will always be good and evil people in the world. The young Cherokee boy finds that although the Army captain who is carrying out the forced migration is evil and uncaring, other whites who help him along the way show him that not all the white men are bad.
Key is very successful at creating stories about young people who are resourceful and courageous.
February 20, 2011
Very good chapter book.Held my attention throughout. Published in 1957. So at that time, Key evidently did not know that army people did not accompany the Cherokee in 1838. The Cherokee were under their own direction, so the character of Captain McReady was historically misleading. (Soldiers did accompany the Treaty Party in 1837, but those people were going willingly, and this was before the round-up in the Stockades.)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews