The Great Lakes: A Literary Field Guide (Stories from Where We Live) [Paperback]

Sara St. Antoine (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Stories from Where We Live

This delightful anthology conveys not only the richness of nature in the Great Lakes region, but also the importance it holds for so many of its inhabitants. Shaped by glaciers, the area has been home to diverse Native American nations, explorers, trappers, loggers, and farmers. Readers meet an Ojibwe girl born in 1777 on the shores of Wisconsin's Chequamegon Bay, spend a summer hunting for rare plants in rural Indiana, and watch the Aurora Borealis from atop 400-foot dunes in Michigan. The book is filled with adventures past and present, including the thrill of sledding the highest hill in deep winter, crossing an ice bridge above Niagara Falls in the winter of 1899, and sailing on the Rouse Simmons, a schooner bringing Christmas trees from Michigan's Upper Peninsula to Chicago in 1912. Other pieces describe quicksand-filled bogs; canoe trips; fishing for walleye, carp, and pike; and encounters with moose, loons, and bears. Contributors include Margaret Atwood, Sigurd Olson, Sandra Cisneros, Edwin Way Teale, Gene Stratton-Porter, and more.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Milkweed Editions (March 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157131654X
• ISBN-13: 978-1571316547
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,738,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Proud Father with Objective Reasons for Being Proud, January 9, 2007

By 

Theo J. St Antoine "Theodore J. St. Antoine" (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Lakes: A Literary Field Guide (Stories from Where We Live) (Paperback)

First, full disclosure: I am the proud father of the editor of this splendid series, Sara St. Antoine. (Paul Mirocha is the excellent illustrator,not the editor.) But you do not have to rely on my obviously biased views. The series has received high marks from Kirkus, Horn Book (a very important children's literature magazine), Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and many regional journals. Among the awards that individual titles have won are: Books for the Teen Ager (New York Public Library); Best Books of the Year (Bank Street College); Kids' Pick of the List (American Booksellers' Association); and Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People (Children's Books Council, National Council for Social Studies).

Sara holds a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from Williams College and a Master's in environmental studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Natural Resources. She has combined her two loves by compiling anthologies of short stories, essays, and poetry from each of the major ecological regions of North America. "The Great Lakes" is one of this series. As suggested by the title of the series, "Stories from Where You Live," the purpose is to introduce preteens and young teenagers to the flora and fauna and natural wonders of their particular geographical area, and to do it entertainingly and painelessly. The selections are by classic American authors, old and new, and by relative unknowns with something important and engaging to say.

Adults as well as the intended audience should find much to enjoy in these thoughfully organized and beautifully packaged works.