The Tillerman Cycle Series


by Cynthia Voigt (Author)

Book Cover for the Tillerman Cycle Series
5.00 5.00 (1 reviews)
Reading level: Ages 11 and up
Books in series: 7
Read in order: Yes
Next book: Finished
Tags: adventure  culture  family  realistic fiction  illness & grief 

It's still true . . .

That's the first thing James Tillerman says to his sister Dicey every morning. It's still true that their mother has abandoned the four Tillerman children somewhere in the middle of Connecticut. It's still true they have to find their way, somehow, to Great-aunt Cilla's house in Bridgeport, which may be their only hope of staying together as a family.

With just eleven dollars to their name, the children—aged between six and thirteen—set off on a journey across America towards an uncertain future. Will their resourcefulness and their love for one another be enough to survive? This celebrated series by Newbery award-winning author Cynthia Voigt is heartfelt, shocking and thoroughly engrossing. 


A Note on the Reading Order:
The only book to have a definite reading order is the first, Homecoming, as the narratives of the other books overlap. Dicey's Song, A Solitary Blue, and Come a Stranger are the most interlocked and can be read in any order following Homecoming and before Sons from Afar and Seventeen Against the Dealer. The Runner is a stand-alone prequel, the events of which take place approximately ten years before Homecoming.

Tillerman Cycle Series Books in Order

 Print series book list

1. Homecoming  (1981)
2. Dicey's Song  (1982)
3. A Solitary Blue  (1983)
4. The Runner  (1985)
5. Come a Stranger  (1986)
6. Sons from Afar  (1987)
7. Seventeen Against the Dealer  (1989)




Reviews
KaraEatsBooks5

Cynthia Voigt addresses serious teen issues such as poverty, racism, mental illness and absent parents with compassion, sensitivity and a keen eye for the complexities of human emotion. The 'Tillerman Cycle' is the best example of realistic fiction for older readers that I have had the pleasure of reading.