Tillerman Cycle facts for kids

The Tillerman Cycle is a popular series of seven children's books written by Cynthia Voigt. These stories follow the adventures and challenges of the Tillerman family as they search for a home and build a new life together. The books explore themes of family, independence, and finding your place in the world.

Books in the Series

• Homecoming (1981)
• Dicey's Song (1982) – This book won the Newbery Medal in 1983!
• A Solitary Blue (1983) – This book won a Newbery Honor Award in 1984!
• The Runner (1985)
• Come a Stranger (1986)
• Sons from Afar (1987)
• Seventeen Against the Dealer (1989)

It's interesting that these books don't always happen in the order they were published. For example, Dicey's Song, A Solitary Blue, and Come a Stranger all happen around the same time. The Runner actually takes place about ten years before Homecoming!

What the Stories Are About

Finding a Home: Homecoming

In Homecoming, four Tillerman children are left alone by their mother. Dicey, the oldest, takes charge of her younger brothers and sister. They go on a long journey to find a new home. Eventually, they settle with their grandmother, "Gram," on a farm in Crisfield, Maryland. This farm is located near the Chesapeake Bay.

Dicey's Journey: Dicey's Song

Dicey's Song continues the story of Dicey. She is trying to figure out where she fits in her new family. Gram is now in charge, but Dicey soon learns that her family still needs her smart thinking and good sense. In her free time, Dicey works on fixing up an old sailboat. As she fixes the boat, she also starts to open up more to hope and friendship.

Before the Beginning: The Runner

The Runner tells a story that happened before the other books. It's about Samuel "Bullet" Tillerman, who is Gram's son and the children's uncle. This book shows what his life was like many years before the events of Homecoming.

Friends and Family: A Solitary Blue and Come a Stranger

A Solitary Blue focuses on Jeff Greene, who becomes Dicey's boyfriend. This book shares his own life story and challenges. Come a Stranger is about Wilhemina Smiths, who becomes Dicey's best friend. It explores her experiences and adventures.

A Search for Answers: Sons from Afar

In Sons from Afar, James and Sammy, two of the Tillerman brothers, go on a search. They try to find Francis Verricker, who might be their father. He left their family a long time ago.

Dicey's Future: Seventeen Against the Dealer

Seventeen Against the Dealer picks up Dicey's story again. This book explores her life as she gets older and faces new challenges.

Meet the Main Characters

• Dicey Tillerman: Dicey is the oldest of the four Tillerman children. She is the main character in three books: Homecoming, Dicey's Song, and Seventeen Against the Dealer. She had to grow up fast to take care of her siblings. Dicey is very independent and good at solving problems. She loves boats and dreams of building them for a living.
• James Tillerman: James is the next oldest child. He loves to think and read books. He is very good at school but doesn't have many friends. James is known for coming up with ideas and plans. He works hard to get a scholarship for college. He also learns he is good at talking things through, which makes him think about becoming a lawyer.
• Maybeth Tillerman: Maybeth is a quiet and shy child. She is a very talented singer and starts taking piano lessons. She also enjoys cooking and growing her own herbs and vegetables. Maybeth even sells her herbs to help her family.
• Sammy Tillerman: Sammy is the youngest of the Tillerman children. When he was little, he had a quick temper. Sammy loves sports and is good at working on cars. He is a hard worker and doesn't care much about what others think. As a boy, he had a crabbing business with James and Jeff.
• Wilhemina "Mina" Smiths: Mina is Dicey's best friend. She is very smart and a talented dancer and singer. Mina is popular at school. She is the daughter of Reverend Amos Smiths and nurse Raymonda Smiths.
• Abigail "Gram" Tillerman: Gram is the Tillerman children's grandmother. She is a strong and proud woman. When her grandchildren arrive, she becomes their legal guardian and later adopts them. Gram is very involved in their lives and helps them learn from their own choices.
• Jeff Greene: Jeff is the only child of a "Professor." He loves poetry and playing the guitar. Jeff falls in love with Dicey and becomes a part of the Tillerman family. He connects with each family member in a special way.

Other Important Characters

• Tamer Shipp: Tamer is a character in The Runner and Come a Stranger. In The Runner, he runs cross country with Bullet. Later, in Come a Stranger, he is a Reverend and a father.
• Reverend Amos Smiths: He is Mina's father and appears in Come a Stranger and Sons from Afar. He is a very spiritual man.
• Mrs Smiths: Mrs. Raymonda Smiths is Mina's mother. She is a strong, caring, and smart nurse who appears in Come a Stranger.
• Isaac Lingerle: Mr. Lingerle is Maybeth Tillerman's piano teacher. He becomes like an extra member of the Tillerman family. He first appears in Dicey's Song.
• Professor Horace Greene: The Professor is Jeff's father and a main character in A Solitary Blue. He is a quiet man who works at a college in Baltimore.
• Brother Thomas: Brother Thomas is a good friend of Professor Greene's. They work together at the college.
• Mr. Chappelle: Mr. Chappelle is an English teacher. Dicey and Mina have him as a teacher in Dicey's Song, and Jeff has him in A Solitary Blue.