Time & Again Press was founded in 2009 with a grant from the Creative Work Fund to write, design, illustrate, and publish a time-travel novel for local youth about their city’s history. In 2014, Time & Again Press published Oakland Tales, Lost Secrets of The Town.
Richmond Tales, Lost Secrets of the Iron Triangle, the first book from Time & Again Press, turns its attention to Richmond, California, a city whose rich history has long been overshadowed by poverty, neglect, violence, and crime.
In June 2009, over forty-five hundred copies of Richmond Tales were distributed to students (10-12 years old) for summer reading. In addition, each student received a companion workbook, created by the West Contra Costa Unified School District. The district has over 30,000 students, representing more than eighty languages; and serves some of the poorest children in California.
In 2014, Oakland Tales, Lost Secrets of The Town was published and adopted into the Common Core curriculum for Oakland public middle schools. Oakland Tales is longer and grittier than Richmond Tales with themes of parent incarceration, deportation, street violence, and restorative justice. It also includes an historical appendix in the book and a larger appendix on line.
Synopsis of Richmond Tales:
After Mario and Maisha form an unlikely friendship, their adventures take them on a magical journey to discover the "lost secrets" of the Iron Triangle, a district of Richmond. They visit Richmond in Ohlone times, in 1915, in 1942, and forward in time to a revitalized Richmond of the future in 2050.
Synopsis of Oakland Tales:
After threats from his former gang, Ernesto from East Oakland moves into Jada's house in West Oakland where they take a magical journey to discover the "lost secrets" of Oakland. They visit Oakland in Ohlone times, the Peralta rancho in the California period, 1906, Chinatown and Seventh Street during World War II, the Black Panthers' school, and forward in time to a safe and beautiful Oakland for all in the future.
