Guardians on the HomesteadTrue farm stories, told by the animals who lived them

A seven-book series for readers ages 9 to 13, drawn from real life on a small Ohio farm: rescued dogs, a stubborn flock of chickens, and the wild neighbors watching from the tree line.

Meet the books See the real farm

Cover of Barney Comes Home: a black puppy, a brown-and-white puppy and a golden dog in a green pasture near a red barn

The books

One farm, seven stories

Book 1 · Out now

Barney Comes Home

Barney was the quiet one, the smallest of seven puppies and a little unsteady on his back legs. When his brothers and sisters are adopted and he is left behind at a crowded shelter, a woman named Miss Diane walks in and sees him. On her farm, among animals with stories of their own, Barney begins to learn what it means to be truly home.

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Edward the LionheartCover coming

Book 2 · Coming soon

Edward the Lionheart

Edward hatches in an incubator at the back of the barn, a young rooster who can see the far tree line better than the bug at his feet. He is nobody's idea of a fighter. But the pasture has its own rules, the woods have their own watchers, and a rooster's courage gets tested in ways nobody expects.

Perfect for fans ofBecause of Winn-Dixie, Shiloh, and A Dog Called Homeless

1234567 Seven books planned

The Guardians

Meet the animals

Every one of them is real. In the books they tell their own stories, and they only talk about what an animal on this farm could have seen or known.

Barney as a young black puppy on a blue leash, looking up from the grass

Barney the quiet pup

Born with bad hips and a big heart. He can't make sharp turns, so he runs like a rabbit, both back legs together, and nobody on the farm can keep up.

Lily, a brown-and-white dog, lying on the carpet between two stuffed toys and looking up

Lily the smart aleck

Brown-and-white, quick with a comeback, and the farm's best egg-finder. If something is happening in the yard, Lily already knows about it.

Jessie, a golden dog with a white blaze, sitting in the garden

Jessie the old guardian

The golden dog who has seen it all. The younger animals come to her when they need the truth, whether they want it or not.

Edward, a big white rooster with a bright red comb, standing tall on top of a small tin can

Edward the young rooster

Farsighted, curious, and fond of grapes, tuna fish and cupcakes. He is the hero of Book 2.

Waylon, a big rooster with copper-orange and dark laced feathers and a bright red comb, standing in the yard

Waylon the boss of the flock

Gruff as a drill sergeant and just as loud. Nothing happens in his flock that Waylon doesn't know about, and he will tell you so.

Robert, a rooster with orange and red feathers and a gray beard

Robert the smooth talker

Orange and red feathers, a gray beard, and the calm voice of a rooster who has nothing left to prove.

Illustration of a big black raven with a heavy beak standing in autumn leaves

Reckless the raven

Everyone mistakes him for a crow. He has stopped correcting them, mostly. Plain-spoken, ornery, and watching from the big maple. Reckless, as we imagine him (picture from Pixabay)

The real farm

Where the stories happen

The coops, the electric fences, the pasture and the woods in these books are all here. So are the late-night egg runs with a basket and a flashlight. These are the real animals, and a few photos from the farm.

Edward the white rooster standing beside Barney in the front yard — Edward keeps Barney company in the front yard

Edward standing proudly beside a yellow feed tub against a brick wall — Edward guarding the feed tub

Edward looking at his own reflection in a mirror beside the boots — Edward meets the rooster in the mirror

Edward resting on the porch with a brown hen standing in front of him — Edward and a friend on the porch

Edward sitting in Tom's lap on the recliner, beak open as if talking — Edward has a few things to say

Puppy Barney, young Lily and old Jessie waiting together on a kitchen floor — Barney, Lily and Jessie, the real dogs from Book 1

Young Lily asleep with her leg over puppy Barney on a leather couch — Lily and Barney, asleep in a pile

Barney as a young puppy lying on a concrete shelter floor with a red leash, looking up sadly — Barney at the shelter, before he came home

White hens in a fenced pasture beside two hoop coops — The free-range flock and their hoop coops

Pasture with portable fencing, coops and trees in fall colors — The pasture, with the woods beyond

A hoop coop with nest boxes, surrounded by fallen leaves — A coop in October leaves

Edward the rooster standing on the couch next to Barney, who is fast asleep — Edward visits Barney on the couch

Barney lying in the grass with Edward, a white rooster, standing behind him — Barney and Edward in the yard

Chappie, a gold-and-black hen, tipped over on her back in the dirt beside Barney — Chappie's leg gave out again, right next to Barney. She tipped over so often we almost named her Eileen.

Barney lying in a bed of green leaves against a brick wall — Barney in the garden bed

Barney lying on a wood floor surrounded by stuffed toys — Barney and his stuffed animals

Barney resting his head on a big teddy bear in the grass — Barney and his teddy bear

Lily and Jessie touching noses at the fence while hens scratch on the other side — Lily and Jessie on guard at the hen yard

Lily and Chappie the hen resting side by side on the porch mat — Lily and Chappie keep watch from the porch

Lily and Barney lying at the top of the stairs in front of bookshelves — Lily and Barney wait at the top of the stairs

Jessie as a fluffy cream-colored puppy outdoors — Jessie as a puppy, years before the farm

Jessie lying on a wood floor with pink ribbons in her fur, looking at the camera — Jessie, dressed up in pink ribbons

Jessie lying upside down on the floor, grinning at the camera — Jessie asking for a belly rub

Jessie and Buddy, two golden dogs, bounding through tall grass beside a lake — Jessie and Buddy in the tall grass by the lake

Jessie smiling on a rocky lakeshore with blue water and a wooded island behind her — Jessie on a lakeshore vacation

Around the homestead

Three hoop coops inside a green electric net fence, with hens roaming the grass — The coops, inside their electric fence

Two white beehives on log rails in the yard, with the coops in the distance — The beehives, with the coops beyond

Edward the white rooster scratching in the mulch while Diane, seen from behind, plants fall bulbs by the lamppost — Edward helps Miss Diane plant fall bulbs. Whenever anyone digs, he runs over to dig too.

Vegetable garden with a netted strawberry bed under two big shade trees — The garden and strawberry bed

Grapevines heavy with green grapes on a sunny day — Grapes coming in, Edward's favorite

The big red barn with a gold eagle over its open sliding doors — The red barn, with its gold eagle

The long greenhouse covered in a spring snow under a gray sky — The greenhouse after a spring snow

Squash and bean rows in the garden, with the greenhouse and red barn behind — Summer garden, with the greenhouse beyond

A cluster of honeybees gathered at the bottom of a white hive — Bees cooling off outside the hive

A wooden Flow hive with a shingled roof, resting in the workshop — The Flow hive, ready for spring

Flower garden with a stone bench, birdbath and big elephant-ear leaves by a red fence — The flower garden in late summer

A dog resting on the lawn by the flower beds, with the red barn beyond — Evening on the patio, looking toward the barn

Vegetable bed mulched with straw, peppers and young greens growing — Peppers and greens tucked in with straw

Long rows of greens with the chicken coops beyond the fence — Garden rows, with the coops out past the fence

Curving flower bed edged with a dirt path — Curving beds along the lawn

Tom smiling and holding two chickens, Chappie on the left and Edward on the right — Tom with Edward and Chappie

About the author

Thomas G. Helmers

Tom grew up in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio. In his early years he worked in restaurants and construction and played guitar in a rock band. Then adventure called, and he set out on foot from Cincinnati toward the Appalachian Trail and down to Florida, trading songs for meals and even serenading herds of cattle along the roadside. A leg injury ended the trek, but the stories stayed with him.

A young Tom in a gray hoodie and ball cap, smiling on a rocky mountaintop above misty ridges — Young Tom on the Appalachian Trail

For nearly four decades Tom built a career in industrial controls, programming and technical writing. After retiring, he and his wife Diane moved to the countryside of rural Ohio, where they raise chickens, grow fruits and vegetables, and keep bees. Many of the scenes in Guardians on the Homestead come straight from their farm.

When he isn't writing, Tom can usually be found tending the coops, playing guitar by the fire pit, or dancing to Motown and reggae in the yard, sometimes with Edward held in his arms.

Tom grinning while Hugh, a big white rooster, stands tall on his shoulder — Hugh rode Tom's shoulder every morning for a month

Tom kneeling in the pasture surrounded by white hens, one standing on his shoulder — Surrounded by the flock

Tom smiling with a gold-and-black laced hen perched on his shoulder — A hen on his shoulder

Before the farm: the backyard greenhouse

Before moving to the country, Tom ran an aquaponics greenhouse in his suburban backyard for about three years. Fish tanks fed the vegetable beds, and a wood-fired rocket mass heater he built kept everything growing through Ohio winters. Then Diane brought home a flock of chickens, Tom had to become a chicken expert too, and the rest of the story is in the books.

A plastic-covered hoop house greenhouse with a wooden door, beside the lawn — The first hoop house

Wood sticks burning in the square feed opening of a homemade rocket heater — Firing up the rocket heater

A blue steel barrel heater at the end of a long block-and-sand heat bench inside the greenhouse — The heater and its sand-filled heat bench

Inside the greenhouse: seedlings in floating rafts on one side, greens growing in blue barrel beds on the other — Greens growing on fish water

Tom in a hoodie holding a basket of fresh greens in the snow, Jessie trotting past beside him — Fresh greens in midwinter, and Jessie's tail

For parents, teachers and librarians

What to expect

Ages 9 to 13Middle-grade novels. Each book reads a little older than the one before, so the series grows up with its readers.

Christian values, shown not preachedKindness, courage and forgiveness come through in what the animals do, not in sermons.

Real life, real stakesFarm life includes hawks, foxes and hard winters. The books are honest about loss, and always hopeful.

Author photoLibraries, schools and newspapers are welcome to use this photo of Tom when writing about the books. Ask for a full-size copy by email.

Looking for the books by name? The Guardians on the Homestead series is written by Tom Helmers (Thomas G. Helmers), an Ohio author who grew up in Cincinnati. Book 1, Barney Comes Home, is a true dog rescue story, and Book 2, Edward the Lionheart, follows a young rooster. They are middle-grade chapter books about farm animals, dogs and chickens, a good fit for kids who love animal stories, family read-alouds and homeschool reading lists.

Questions about school visits or library copies? Write to Tom at tom@booksbytomhelmers.com · Farm news and photos on Facebook