THOUGH Marcus Mohalland left Jamaica for the United States of America when he was only 15 years old, his memories of growing up on the island are some of the things he holds most dear.

So much so that he has co-authored a series of books, which target children eight to 12 years old, on his adventures while growing up in Portmore, St Catherine, and is now on a mission to get the books into US schools.

“Our first book, Silly Nomads From Palmerston Close, was published on September 16, 2013 and volume two, Silly Nomads Go Ninja Crazy, was published on July 1, 2014,” Mohalland told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview.

“Our books tell the tale of two mischievous Jamaican brothers who use their imaginations to create their own adventures,” Mohalland shared.

“These stories are based on my life growing up in Jamaica and they incorporate some of the native language, Patois. “They are funny and fast-paced, and are designed to encourage children to use their imagination and enjoy their childhood,” he continued. According to Mohalland, the final book in the trilogy is to be published in 2015.

His co-author, Janet Lewis, an American, said that although both their childhood were worlds apart geographically, after they met they found out they had two things in common: “We grew up learning how to have fun making something out of whatever we had, and we wanted to write.” So they did.

And in that process, the two founded Mohalland Lewis, LLC in March 2013 so that they could also self-publish their culturally inspired books.

“We do interactive book readings at schools and libraries in upstate New York and in New York City,” Lewis shared. “We encourage reading and show that reading can be fun. We also want them to hear the powerful message that whatever they want to accomplish in life, they can do it.

“Our dream is to turn our stories into plays, animated cartoons or movies, and have the books translated into other languages,” she went on. In fact, according to Lewis, their first book will be available in Spanish by the end of this year. Mohalland told the Sunday Observer that the approximately US$8,000 investment the two made to get their company up and running was the best decision they could’ve made.

He shared that the move has been a profitable one so far and that the gains made have not only been monetary. “It is how we are changing minds and getting people excited about these two Jamaican boys who had an idea, based on what they saw on television, a British documentary, to go and be nomads,” said Mohalland. “What I want to get across to our audience and people who might read this story is that we are trying to reach kids, to get them to be creative, be imaginative and to go out and enjoy life. “…What we do as adults is spend the rest of our lives trying to get back to those times when we were kids,” Mohalland insisted. “So we encourage outdoor play and we encourage kids to just be kids and enjoy life because it goes by so fast.” Why is Mohalland focused on children?

“I have worked with kids my whole life. From being the youth empowerment co-ordinator of my county in New York to working with kids with disabilities, I just feel like kids are the future and if we don’t steer them in the right direction, we do our country, our world, a disservice,” Mohalland declared. He, however, insisted that although their books target children eight to 12 years old, they are for all ages.

“The books are at several schools in New York. We have a school in Ohio, they said that they might adopt the book to their curriculum,” Mohalland said. “We have kids using volume one to do skits and acting it out to the script. We have people using the books to do book reports, so we have been seeing people using the books for different things.” The co-author said they have sold some copies in the United Kingdom and Canada and that he also donated a few copies to his alma mater, Independence Primary.

The Jamaican told the Sunday Observer that when he first moved to the US, it was not easy. In fact, just two months after he left St Jago High School in fourth form, he and his brother were placed in a US boys’ home. “While living in Jamaica I had many dreams. My expectations were for my parents to find well-paying jobs and provide us a nice home to live in, and the opportunity to further my education,” Mohalland recounted. “When my family migrated here things were not what I had expected them to be.

“As a teenager living in New York, I felt a disconnect from my peers. Neither of my parents had a job, and at one point, five of us shared a one-bedroom apartment,” he continued.

“It was a very stressful time for us all. “With five people living in such a tight space, arguments and bickering were inevitable. On several occasions the police were called because of the arguments. There was never any physical abuse, but as a result we were removed from the care of my parents and placed in a boys’ home,” he said.

The experience of being pulled away from his parents and being placed in a home where some of the boys were from troubled backgrounds was rough, Mohalland admitted. “However, I relied on the principles and standards my father instilled in us as kids. I was able to excel in school and rise above the tremendous hardships that came with living with total strangers,” Mohalland recalled. He said despite everything, having grown up poor in Jamaica, he worked hard and focused on achieving “what I perceived to be the ‘American Dream’”.

He achieved a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Binghamton University in upstate New York. “I focused my attention on working with youth; first, mentoring those with disabilities to develop life-affirming skills, and then later as a youth empowerment co-ordinator for my county. I provided training in media relations, public speaking and advocacy to youth and adult volunteers,” Mohalland said.

“In addition to writing and publishing books, I have been active with my co-author in doing book readings and presentations in schools, both in our surrounding community as well as in New York City where I had lived when I came to the United States,” he said.

“This is one of the ways in which I am able to give back to my community.” “I want to send the message to children that reading is fun, that it is important for their education and that it offers the opportunity to learn about other cultures,” Mohalland declared.

“I want to encourage them to reach their potential and that whatever they want to do in life they can achieve it if they work hard and don’t give up.”