Best friends to the end!
The characters from book one
Lucas Beeman (Beem)
Lucas Beeman, or Beem as his friends call him, is fourteen. He is the oldest of the seven. Kinsmen tradition requires that he take responsibility to protect the younger children whenever they leave the village. Although this adds some pressure to Beem’s life, he doesn’t mind. He always manages to get everyone home safely by the end of the day. Beem is a good-looking boy with kind brown eyes and an innocent face. He is the tallest of the children
but only tops Pria by a bit. She insists his unruly mop of auburn hair gives him an unfair advantage.
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Beem’s best and worst trait is his vivid imagination. He has a unique ability to invent the craziest stories. His friends love going on the fantastic adventures he dreams up whenever they are together. His parents find this gift annoying because they never know which world he’s living in – real or imagined.
Pria Limm
Pria Limm is thirteen. She is tall and thin with long golden hair. She ties it back with a bright red ribbon, which is her favorite color. Her eyes are deep green and her skin is so fair it is almost translucent. She catches the attention of the village boys, but is unimpressed by their admiration. Her friends just see her as Pria – nothing more or less. Her greatest desire in life is to one day be a mother. She loves young children, especially babies. In all of Beem’s adventures, she takes the role of ‘mom.’ Her knack of giving good advice, or a timely word of caution, consistently keeps them out of trouble. Beem appreciates this because he would be the one to receive punishment if anything were to go seriously wrong.
Jinkman Spin (Jinx)
Jinx is the picture of average. Skinny and gangly, it’s as if he hasn’t grown into his skin yet. He has straight black hair and freckles. Nothing about him makes him unique or memorable to the outside observer – his brother makes sure to remind him of this. Consequently, he is often overlooked when something is being planned. He’s not sure if this happens by accident or if Spinny intentionally leaves him out. Jinx seeks after the attention and respect of the others, but his attempts usually backfire. He is accident-prone, so they started calling him Jinx and the nickname stuck.
Mylan Spin (Spinny)
Spinny, on the other hand, is a fireball. He is lean, muscular and can’t stop moving. His eyes are wild and blue with a sparkle of mischief behind them. He has the same black hair as his brother with a few less freckles. He is usually the cause of the latest catastrophe, but Beem takes it all in stride. They first met when Spinny was three and have been best friends ever since.
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Jinx is the firstborn of the twins, making him the favored child, and the one their parents put in charge. This infuriates Spinny. He is constantly driven to prove himself. Everything is a competition to him so he outruns, out-throws, and out-yells the other children – except for his nemesis, Trince.
Trince Tummins
Trince Tummins is almost twelve, so she says. She is strong, athletic, and can hold her own with any boy. Her pretty face is framed by long black curls that bounce as she walks. Her eyes are deep brown and flash with passion, especially when she is challenging Spinny in his endless competitions. She always manages to put him in his place, which results in frequent bickering between them. Trince has a zeal for living and loves a good adventure. She has just come into the time of life when girls start having feelings for boys. When these emotions confront her, she pushes them away or ignores them altogether.
Stalwart Cromwell (Wort)
Stalwart ‘Wort’ Cromwell is eight. He is short and round-faced with a pasty complexion and small grey eyes. His coarse brown hair is cut short and combed flat. The other children often poke fun at him because he is a bit of a stick-in-the-mud. He prefers playing at home with his building blocks to a good tromp through the woods or a climb up Broadside Hill. The love of his mother’s rich, baked desserts, combined with his aversion to all physical activity, has left him flabby and out of shape. He tires easily and gets grumpy when their hikes get too steep. But he hates being alone, so he usually ends up going along on his friends’ expeditions. The Cromwell’s have made good money through their farm mercantile, which has made Wort’s life better than most Kinsmen. His parents have spoiled him; so his attitude can be demanding at times. He has learned to get his way by whining. While this has worked to manipulate adults, his friends are wise to his tactics. They refuse to let him get away with anything when they play together. Wort’s one consolation is being able to boss around Meekus, the youngest of the seven.
Meekus Tivley
Meekus Tivley is only six. He is small but unusually strong for a boy his age. He has chubby cheeks, straw-colored curls and large blue eyes. He can find the good in any situation and often acts more mature than Wort. He takes Wort’s bossing with good humor. Besides, Beem or Pria always come to his defense if Wort gets too nasty. Meekus loves playing with the older kids. His favorite thing in the world is going along on Beem’s make-believe adventures. He hates for them to end and always begs to play a little longer whenever it’s time to go home. Meekus is brave for his age and tries hard not to cry, even if he’s bleeding from a scraped elbow or chin. Everyone likes him so much that he has become like a little brother to them. They fight to have him on their team whenever they play Throw- Stick or Charge the Wall.