Imagine if the "Waltons" were black, and living in "Little House on the Prairie". That was the reality for a large African American family from NYC in the '70s & early '80s. A Harlem-raised couple with eight children spent many summers on a ramshackle upstate, New York, dairy farm.

Adventure,Biographical,Family,Memoir

Eva and Tom thought they would have been able to find the open space they sought for their eight children somewhere in the Catskills. However, they could not afford what they wanted until they reached Hammond, New York, near Ontario, Canada. A 300-acre farm awaited them and their adventures.

Fourteen-year-old John-John looked woefully at the FOR SALE sign as his dad's Ford station wagon pulled out of their farm's driveway for the last time. Eva and Tom were headed back to Queens with their two youngest children. John-John did not know it then, but he was taking the farm with him.

Hammond, New York (rural St. Lawrence County)

Yes

Other

Coming of Age

Adventure,Biographical,Family,Memoir,Children's,Funny

Name: John-John

Age: 12

Gender: Male

Role: Protagonist

Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Aggressive,Masculine,Funny,Lone Wolf,Leader,Flexible,Engaging

Name: Mom

Age: 48

Gender: Female

Role: Logical

Key Traits: Aspiring,Complex,Empathetic,Engaging,Faithful,Flexible,Gracious,Honorable,Strong Moral Code,Visionary,Skillful,Selfless,Religious,Modest,Funny

Name: Dad

Age: 48

Gender: Male

Role: mentor

Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Complex,Confident,Decisive,Flexible,Leader,Unapologetic,Skillful,Masculine

Name: Ray-Ray

Age: 14

Gender: Female

Role: sidekick

Key Traits:

Echoes from the Farm is ideally suited to become a family-friendly TV series. The true accounts of each family member's experiences alone could provide material for multiple seasons. John-John (yours truly) spent every summer on the farm during the time his parents owned it (ages 3 to 14). As his siblings grew older, they would not return to the farm; adulthood awaited. Similar to "Little House on the Prairie", this actually happened. An African American family from NYC engaged seamlessly with white dairy farming families and Amish communities. Each of John-John's adventures could be an episode (e.g. Wonder Years). Families can follow along together and find many characters to identify with. Two established producers have already found these memoirs intriguing. One has produced multiple episodes of Even Stevens and That's So Raven for the Disney Channel, and the other is an Academy Award winning producer of children's programming. He specifically stated that this project might interest him if it were purchased.

What an interesting life indeed. This seventh child of two Harlem-raised parents has chosen to share his most wondrous experiences from a unique time and place on the American tapestry. An African American boy from NYC who became a living bridge to rural and ethnic understanding. The man today is well traveled in mind, body, and spirit.

Age: 6 and under,7-12,13-17,18-34,35-54,55+

Target Gender: Universal

Information not completed

Status: Yes: self-published

Publisher: FriesenPress

Year Published: 2017

Yes

978-1-4602-9673-8