Mylisa Anderson
The Year in the Tent
What's on top of Cooper's Mesa?
About The Year in the Tent
Eleven-year-old Ty-bo Cartwright thrives on excitement and adventure and never turns down a dare. As he roams the Texas prairie, out of sight of his hard working and preoccupied parents, he discovers Quentin and Kade Cooper, two otherwise homeless brothers, who have taken up residence in a tent pitched on their old family homestead in the Texas Panhandle.
Over the course of a year, Ty-bo visits the tent in sporadic intervals, attracted to the Cooper’s rugged existence. He forges a friendship with the brothers who, far from the trappings of modern life, struggle to simply survive. As Ty-bo observes, and then shares in their hardships, he learns not only the harsh lessons of nature, but ultimately discovers the meaning of friendship, loyalty, and self-sacrifice.
Inspiration for The Year in the Tent
There really is a "Quentin" and "Kade", brothers who lived in a tent on their family's ranch in Texas for several years. Although their situation inspired The Year in the Tent, the circumstances Quentin and Kade face in the story are fictional.