The Protectors’ Pledge: Secrets of Oscuros

**Finalist in the 2016 Burt Award for Children’s Literature**

A fast-paced adventure set deep in a Caribbean forest with a hero who must risk everything to save the forest and his village.

Twelve-year-old JV can’t wait to spend his vacation exploring the Oscuros Forest. True, everyone in the village of Alcavere believes the Oscuros Forest is a place to be feared, inhabited by dangerous and magical beings. But JV is not afraid, even when his first trip into the forest brings him face-to-face with a mysterious creature.

Then the disappearance of one of their own shakes the village and JV joins the search. He finds himself deep in the Oscuros Forest on a rescue mission and committed to a promise, a promise which the Protectors of the forest insist he keeps no matter how dangerous things get.

Can JV complete his daring quest even as he uncovers in the process, a shocking secret that will force him to question everything he thought he knew?

Read the second book in the Secrets of Oscuros series, The Whisperer’s Warning.

Many folklore characters make appearances in The Protectors’ Pledge. Read more about Papa Bois and Mama D’lo here.

View the Trailer:

Danielle with Imam Baksh

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ReadWithMe School Visit

Winning Burt Award Authors with Anna Lucie Smith of BOCAS

Reading Guide Available

Next Middle-grade: Tameisha’s Adventure

Author(s):
Danielle Y. C. McClean
Cover llustration by:
Ryan James
Interior llustrations by:
Lorena Soriano
ISBN:
978-0997890075 (Paperback)
978-0999237205 (Hard Cover)
Pages:
180
Price:
$12.99 (Paperback)
$24.99 (Hard Cover)
$10.99 (Audio)
Classification
Caribbean, Children’s
Setting:
Caribbean
Date published:
2017-05-04 (Paperback)
2017-07-24 (Hard cover)
Age Range:
8-12 years
950L Lexile Measure (US 4th Grade)

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Reviews

“A fast-paced read featuring a smart, young protagonist…one whom readers will root for. McClean effectively infuses Caribbean elements into the text, including specific elements of Trinidadian folklore and culture.” Kirkus Reviews

“McClean is keeping Caribbean traditions and folktales alive in this thrilling adventure.” Tracey Baptiste, author of The Jumbies and the forthcoming Rise of the Jumbies

“Exciting and fun filled… emotionally alive with vivid, engaging characters, memorable scenes,… magic and light… beautiful prose…”  2016 Burt Award Judges

IN THE PRESS

Baltimore Times April 28, 2017


About the Author

Danielle Y. C. McClean is an author, a translator, and an interpreter. She has degrees in French, Spanish, and law, and is passionate about language, folklore, mythology, and foreign cultures. Originally from the Caribbean republic of Trinidad and Tobago, she currently lives in Tennessee with her husband and two children. The Protectors’ Pledge is McClean’s first novel. You can visit her online at www.daniellemcclean.com.