Gigi Amateau – författare

Born a slave in 1776, Gabriel grows up capable and literate only to be taken from his mother and sent to the capital city as a blacksmith’s apprentice. There in the forge, a meeting point for many travelers and news bearers, his work awakens him to the sparks of resistance that are igniting into rebellion around the globe.

When he is unable to both defend the love of his life and earn the money to buy her freedom, and with the news of Toussaint’s successful rebellion against Haiti’s slave masters ringing in his ears, Gabriel makes a decision: freedom for just his own family would not be enough. Using the forge to turn pitchforks into swords and his eloquence to turn dreams into rallying cries, Gabriel plots a rebellion involving thousands of slaves, free blacks, poor whites, and Native Americans. To those excluded from the promise of the Revolution, Gabriel intends to bring liberty.

Interwoven with authentic original documents, this poignant, illuminating novel about a major figure in African-American history gives a personal face to a remarkable moment in our past that is little known but should be long remembered.

On the night Chancey is born, a "fire star" gallops across the sky. But many years of hardship will pass before the orphaned albino Appaloosa can believe the prophecy his dam foretold—that his "fire star" was a beacon for a horse of profound wisdom and extraordinary potential, one who will eventually change the lives of two children forever. Told through Chancey’s eyes in the classic tradition of great horse stories, here is a tale about bravery, destiny, and hope—and about sharing the magic of a second chance.

“Injects a dose of modernity into the old hard-luck horse story...Delightful.” -The Chronicle of the Horse

“The horse story is revived to magni?cent effect in this moving novel.” -The Horn Book

“Many details about equine behavior and horsemanship lend authenticity...A highly enjoyable read.” -School Library Journal

“Earnest, heartfelt, and uplifting.” -Voice of Youth Advocates

When Macadoo is just a colt, he challenges his father, a huge Belgian stallion, in order to protect his mother and the rest of the herd. From that moment on, Mac knows that his purpose in life is to help and serve others however he can.

Though Macadoo endures much adversity—leaving the only home he’s ever known, being separated from his dam, and surviving an auction that for many horses is their final stop before the slaughterhouse—he finds the courage to “walk on” through even the most difficult circumstances. And he eventually finds a sense of home and good companions, first with Izzy, Poppa, and their mules, then at the Maury River Stables, where he learns to teach children therapeutic riding and vaulting.

Told from Macadoo’s point of view and featuring beloved characters from Chancey of the Maury River, this is a story that horse lovers will cherish.