Wide Awake. Every Week.
Wide Awake. Every Week.
compiled by Roslyn A. Nelson & Starla J. King
Little Big Bay • ISBN: 978-0-9892822-9-1 • $19.95 Softcover
In this inspirational book, 52 writers each share a week of observations to fill a year’s worth of short daily interludes. Bayfield poet Ros Nelson pairs for a second time with Starla King on this follow up to Wide Awake. Every Day.
About 20 of the authors have Lake Superior ties or live here, and not surprisingly, their observations feature our region. The week of work by Mike Wiggins, chairman of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, particularly spoke to me:
“I sat perched on a clay cliff above Lake Superior, awaiting daybreak as the yellowing horizon line gave way to a red, elliptical rush. … I knew I needed eagle words. Eagle words can bring up the fish below the surface water, or reveal the sky side of a nest.”
This book can inspire or give a moment of thoughtful calm in your day. The hard part will be not reading all of them at once!
The Search for the Homestead Treasure
The Search for the Homestead Treasure
by Ann Treacy
University of Minnesota Press • ISBN: 978-0-8166-9956-8 • $16.95 Hardcover
Ann Treacy loves the craft of writing – not just the flow of words and the stories that bubble up, but truly crafting the right phrases, tone and pace. I know this because she has written for our magazine.
In this book for middle-grade youngsters, Ann shines. The story is set on a Minnesota farm. It centers on a second-generation family of Swedish immigrants at the turn of the 20th century. The plot echoes familiar as a family’s fortunes fall on 14-year-old Martin after moving to his deceased grandparents’ abandoned homestead and his father is injured in a logging accident. Martin must find a way to save the farm through hard work … and perhaps via a hidden treasure. Ann’s seamless storytelling moves the tale, deftly navigating loss, grieving and adventure. Her attention to historic detail makes it enjoyable for older (that would be me) readers, too. Put this one on the fun summer list.