Gitchi Gumee [Hardcover]

Anne Margaret Lewis (Author), Kathleen Chaney Fritz (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2006 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Gitchi Gumee is a wonderful story that will be read over and over each year, but maybe even more important, Gitchi Gumee is a story about patience and respect. Incredible illustrations by Fritz immediately capture your eye and draw you into this amazing story that reads as a 400 year old legend, and when you are done sharing this story with your children or grandchildren, their favorite new words to say....GITCHI GUMEE!

Editorial Reviews

Review

Gorgeous illustrations . . . truly a book for everyone who loves the water and Great Lakes. --Detroit Free Press

Here is a children's text enhanced by illustrations that manages to be both whimsical and awesome. -- Lake Superior Magazine

The gorgeous paintings...evoke the...feeling of the story. This is truly a book for everyone who loves water. -- Detroit Free Press, May 26, 2006

While reading the book and admiring the pages, one can't help but get swept up into the story. --Bay Area Times Magazine

While reading the book and admiring the pages, one can't help but get swept up into the story. --Bay Area Times Magazine

About the Author

Anne Margaret Lewis has been writing children's books since the sixth grade when she 'wrote, designed and published' her first children's book. Her books have received national recognition, with Has Anyone Seen Christmas? not only a national bestseller, but was also an American Booksellers Association Book Sense Selection and Gitchi Gumee won the 2006 Midwest Booksellers Association Children's Book of the Year Honor Book. She is also the author of Lighthouse Fireflies, Tears of Mother Bear, Hidden Pumpkins, Hidden Cherries, Hidden Michigan, 'Twas the Night Before Summer and the new release of Santa Goes Green.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Mackinac Island Press; 1st edition (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974914592
• ISBN-13: 978-0974914596
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 11.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,787,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful adventure, November 9, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gitchi Gumee (Hardcover)

Gitchi Gumee means "big water," and those of us who border on Lake Superior--one of the five Great Lakes--we know the name is perfect.

Ann Margaret Lewis tells in short verses ideal for children her story of the big waters and a little boy's curiosity about sailing it.

Kathleen Chaney Fritz's illustrations of the "human face" of the lake are wonderful. You can feel the lake's movement and season changes. Some of the pictures are so beautiful you could frame them.

"I puff out my cheeks and blow my wind," Lewis writes to show how Lake Superior can--and does change so quickly.

This story tells that the lake is home to families playing on the shore, people boating and fishing, and huge ocean freighters carrying products around the world. Many shipwrecks lie beneath the lake's waters.

Armchair Interviews says: If your child likes adventure told with great illustrations, this book is a keeper.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful presented tale of a young man's remarkable journey, July 11, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gitchi Gumee (Hardcover)

Gitchi Gumee by Anne Margaret Lewis is an original picturebook story enhanced with the museum quality paintings of Kathleen Chaney Fritz. The result is a beautiful presented tale of a young man's remarkable journey through the deepest, greatest bodies of water in a small sail boat. Inspired by the Native American tales of the "big water" and as exemplified in the famous "Hiawatha" saga poem of Longfellow, Gitchi Gumee showcases the adventurous young man's nautical sally into the all-knowing majesty of the open sea. Perfect for both school and community library picturebook collections, Lewis and Fristz's Gitchi Gumee is enthusiastically recommended for young readers and their parents for its superb illustrations in service to a truly inspirational and entertaining story.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Milwaukee Parent Magazine, July 19, 2006

By 

Milwaukee Parent Magazine (Milwaukee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gitchi Gumee (Hardcover)

The sea becomes a young man's mentor in this beautifully rendered read. "Watch and listen closely and you will know my faces well," says Gitchi Gumee. Purposeful poetry and incredible illustrations communicate the many moods of big water, giving young readers a newfound respect.