by Adam de Pencier
While there has been an unusual amount of dreadful news this year, there has been something we can all rejoice in: three new books by New York Times best-selling author, Newberry honor winner and Duluth resident, Margi Preus. (On her website, Margi points out the proper pronunciation of her name in an audio clip: it’s Margi with a hard “g” and Preus rhyming with “voice.”)
Margi has written some half dozen children’s books and in her latest picture book released this summer, The Littlest Voyageur, she penned one about a red squirrel who stows aways on a canoe in Montréal during the heyday of the 18th century fur trade. We travel with the little fellow all the way to the summer rendezvous at the Grand Portage on Lake Superior.
Besides the picture book, Margi had two young adult books come out during the year – Village of Scoundrels, based on a true story from France in World War II and the third and final installment of her Enchantment Lake Mystery series, The Silver Box.
I caught up with the author just after the release of The Littlest Voyageur to discuss that book.
Adam: So first of all, as a resident of Toronto, I erroneously assumed you must be from Canada to pen such a classically Canadian story as the fur trade. Where did you come up with the idea for the book?
Margi: I’ve had an interest in voyageurs for awhile, largely due to where I live (northeastern Minnesota) and that I love to be in a canoe in the north country. The story of The Littlest Voyageur had kicked around, unfinished, for a long time. I recently realized how long when I found a folder dated “Littlest Voyageur, 2003.” Somewhere in between then and now I co-wrote the libretto for a comic opera entitled “Les Uncomfortables,” about the voyageurs and early forays into northern Minnesota by French explorers.
Although the fur trade is probably not a subject studied in every school in the U.S., school children in Minnesota and Wisconsin do study it, and, of course, I hope this book sparks interest in children everywhere – especially in getting out in a boat or canoe and exploring the out-of-doors.
Adam: You clearly thoroughly researched the life of the voyageur. Was there anything you learned about them that surprised even you?
Margi: I learned a lot writing this book! And I credit my editor with encouraging me to make the story as historically accurate as possible. I guess it was surprising that, in spite of the danger and death and terrible food, the voyageurs really loved the life. And yet, it isn’t completely surprising. Having spent time canoeing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota and Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario – as well as kayaking on Lake Superior – I recognize the joie de vivre that comes with a life lived in the wilderness and on wild waterways, even when it’s challenging. Of course, I have the advantage of a Kevlar canoe, a tent with bug netting and freeze-dried ice cream, among other niceties, unlike the voyageurs who slept under their canoes, used bear fat for insect repellent and ate pea soup for every meal.
Adam: Did you have a moral conundrum with Le Rouge entering the fur hut at the Grand Portage only to find out that the reason for the epic journey was the harvest of animals, of furs?
Margi: Since I was writing from a squirrel’s point of view, I had to go with how the squirrel would react. I did not have this moment in mind when I started writing (I guess I wasn’t thinking ahead), but once the brigade got to Grand Portage, and the squirrel learns what the voyageurs are there to trade, it did seem as if the squirrel might experience something of a moral conundrum. He wants to be a voyageur, but if being a voyageur means taking the pelts of his fellow creatures … well … what then?
Although I am a lover of animals and don’t hunt myself, I grew up in a hunting family and am not offended by it. But if I were a fur-bearing creature, I reckon I might feel more like Jean Pierre Petit Le Rouge.
Adam: In reading the book aloud to children, what sorts of responses and questions have they asked?
Margi: The book came out the end of March, and then coronavirus shut everything down, so I’ll be interested to see what kinds of questions and responses I get once things open up again. I did do a session with a second grade class via Skype and most of the questions were really about being an author and what kinds of other books I’d written.
Adam: You adroitly weave in the idea of gravity, even Shakespeare’s plays and idiom. What made you include this?
Margi: Well “Henry V” – once more unto the breach, dear friends – is sort of my personal rallying cry as I begin each new draft of a book. As for gravity, I was trying to think of new ideas that were current in the late 18th century, and of course something else that was new was the genre of the novel. The idea of gravity as presented by Isaac Newton was a relatively new idea and that’s why I put it in the book. Gravity is also everywhere in the life of the voyageur – going upstream, lifting 200-pound packs. These tangibles challenged the voyageur each and every day.
Adam: Is it too bold to say that Jean Gentille is the hero of the story? Le Rouge? Even Monique?
Margi: Le Rouge is the hero of the story, bien sûr! Jean Gentille is the best friend. Monique is the love interest. The main antagonist, of course, is Jean Méchant.
In reality I think that a crew of voyageurs would have to get along well and work together. And so when you look at the roughhousing and fighting that occurs (and did occur), it’s at the end of the trip or the first leg of the trip when everyone has safely arrived at the Grand Portage. It’s a way of life that is far removed from ours, and it captivated me as I hope it will my readers.
The Littlest Voyageur
by Margi Preus
illus. by Cheryl Pilgrim
Margaret Ferguson Books
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4247-8
$16.99 Hardcover
While at one level this is a charming children’s story geared toward ages 7-10, at another it is fastidious with respect to history and geography, so that any reader would gain a grounding in one of the most compelling eras of Canadian and U.S. history. The tale itself, meanwhile, has witty turns and twists, not the least of which is the species of the Littlest Voyageur himself.
– Adam de Pencier
Village of Scoundrels
by Margi Preus
Amulet Books
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0897-8
$16.99 Hardcover
This book is the antidote for young people (and older folk, too) who sometimes feel helpless in the face of current events. Using the true story of teenagers in a French village occupied by Nazis in World War II, Margi shows how these young people rise to the honorable needs of the moment. The teen heroes – and the village around them – go about rescuing Jewish refugees right under the Nazis’ noses. An inspiring work with engaging storytelling.
– Konnie LeMay
The Silver Box
by Margi Preus
University of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 978-1-5179-0968-0
$16.95 Hardcover
The third and final installment of the Enchantment Lake Mystery series follows Francie to the conclusion. As always, Margi’s engaging prose carries the story in this case through the north woods.
– Konnie LeMay
Reviews
One Summer Up North
by John Owens
University of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 978-1-5179-0950
$17.95 Hardcover
Pictures really are worth a thousand words … in fact, they are all the words … in this text-free children’s picture book by artist John Owens. The lack of words certainly does not hurt the storyline, following a family canoeing through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. You might say this is the book version of a non-motorized experience (just like the BWCAW). The delightful images offer plenty to discover with younger children: Do you see the gull? Where is the squirrel? and allows those who have visited the BWCAW with young family members to recall their own stories … or to plan to make some memories in the future.
– Konnie LeMay
The Range Eternal
by Louise Erdrich
illus. by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
University of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 978-1-5179-1098-3
$17.95 Hardcover
Louise Erdrich is much acclaimed for her adult books with their rich prose and generous expression of her Ojibwe heritage. In this book, centered on her ancestral homelands of the Turtle Mountains in North Dakota, Louise delivers lyrical remembrances of “the Range Eternal” woodstove at the heart of her growing up. She recalls fears of the winter Windigo rattling the door at night and the warmth of homemade soup. All of this is familiar and comforting to those of us who grew up in the north country, whether beside Lake Superior or as far as the North Dakota plains. This would be a perfect mid-winter’s read (even without little ones to listen).
– Konnie LeMay
Silent Satisfaction, Great Lakes Fish Save Their Neighborhoods
by Stephen T. Schram
illus. by Kimberly VanDenBerg
Orange Hat Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-64538-107-5
$14.99 Softcover
Fisheries biologist Stephen T. Schram released this year the final episode in this Great Lakes Trilogy following the adventures of Lake Superior lake trout Louis and Louise. Introduced in the first book, Underwater Adventures with Louis and Louise, the two next traveled the full length of the Great Lakes in the second book, A Great Lakes Odyssey with Louis and Louise. In this book, they return to Lake Superior to rally and warn the underwater and waterfront wild residents about the dangers of pollution, invasive species and other threats to their Lake home. As with people, some are sceptical that they need to do anything at all, since Lake Superior remains less affected the the lower lakes. There are some angry confrontations, but eventually all the native species agree, from leeches to sturgeon, to join in The Great Lakes Challenge. For the critters, that includes eating those invasives. They spread the message throughout the Great Lakes, finding aid in scientists (not surprising, given the author’s background) and hoping that the beauty of the environment will sway other humans to The Great Lakes Challenge, too. The story is perhaps a wee complicated for the very young. The sprinkled illustrations are delightful additions, a few with familiar Lake Superior locales. It’s been a multi-year adventure for Stephen as a writer/educator and his work to protect the Great Lakes will not end, I’m certain, with the last of this trilogy.
– Konnie LeMay
Yang Warriors
by Kao Kalia Yang
illus. by Billy Thao
University of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 978-1517907983
$16.95 Hardcover
This children’s book brings a child’s perspective to the difficulties of a refugee camp and the emulation of television warriors. The book’s compelling graphics and straight-forward yet eloquent story blossoms an understanding of true hardship and heroism. The story is based on the experiences of the author, Kao Kalia Yang, born in the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp described in the story who came to Minnesota when she was 6 with her family the year after this story takes place. Illustrator Billy Thao is a Minnesota-born native of Hmong descent who dove into his ancestral culture to select the appropriate graphic style for the book. While the book takes place in a specific refugee camp, its circumstances help both children and adults understand the dire situations of such camps housing millions around the world today. Intended for elementary-aged children, it can teach us all.
– Konnie LeMay
Black Bears and Blueberries Publishing owners Betsy Albert-Peacock & Thomas Peacock
blackbearsandblueberries.com
$10-$11.95
This is a little different kind of review – of publishers along with some of the books they produced this year.
Retired university educators, Thomas and Betsy created their Black Bear and Blueberries Publishing company in Duluth (or in their summer home in Bayfield) when they realized how few Indigenous language books existed as teaching tools. They publish both traditional stories from the Ojibwe and Dakota traditions, but also books featuring those languages alongside English.
Betsy says they set a goal of two books a year, but they produced six children’s books: The Boy from Pickerel Lake, Takoza: Walks with the Blue Moon Girl, When the Boy Was Made into a Whirlwind, How the Boy and Rabbit Helped Each Other, Nenaboozhoo Steals Fire and both a Dakota and Ojibwe version of Animals of Turtle Island.
“Our plan was to do two a year, got a little carried away this year!” Betsy jokes.
We invite you to check out these inspirational, witty and often just downright cute stories for children and pre-teens … and adults interested in learning more about the heritage of those who resided on the land before the European migration.
– Konnie LeMay