The just-released SUNKEN Shipwrecks of Lake Superior, produced by the publishers of this magazine, is a fantastical journey for kids and boat lovers of all ages.
First-time author Kathy Groth brings more than three decades as a teacher and reading specialist to her portrayal of some of the Big Lake’s more spectacular and harrowing episodes. Her love of the Lake and young readers comes through on every page.
In addition to Kathy’s tale for young readers (age 8 and older) are dozens of amazing historic and underwater images.
We caught Kathy just before the book’s release to find out more of her book-writing journey.
LSM: Where did the idea for the book come from?
KATHY: When my children (who now are 32 and 33) were 5 and 6, we took our camper on the Lake Superior Circle Tour. We stopped at the maritime museums, and they got interested in the shipwrecks, especially the ones with ghost stories. I’m a teacher and a reading specialist, so I was trying to find books about shipwrecks. Our very last stop in Bayfield, Wisconsin, I asked the used bookstore owner – do you have anything on shipwrecks for kids? He said no, but added, “If I had a dollar for everyone who asked, I’d be a millionaire!” I told him I was a teacher, and he said, “I think you should write one.” I got home and thought, “Why not?” So I did the research. Then things got busy, and I set it aside. Three years ago, in retirement, I thought, I’m going to finish it.
LSM: What were the big surprises?
KATHY: The shipwrecks themselves. The only one I’d heard of was the Edmund Fitzgerald. But they all have compelling stories like that. So many families experienced such extreme loss. I imagined being those families, and the people on the ships, and what it must be like to know you were going down. It became very personal to me. I don’t take that lightly.
LSM: Who is your ideal reader?
KATHY: When I first started, I really wanted it for young kids. Maybe because my kids were so young when I started it. I imagined a picture book with easy enough text they could read themselves. But the more I got going, there were facts I couldn’t leave out. It got more complex. I taught third and fourth grades primarily, so that’s the target audience – the strong third- and fourth-grade readers, but also early middle-school grades. But I’ve had adults read it, and say they couldn’t put it down.
LSM: A lot of people want to write after they retire. How did you bring this dream into publication?
KATHY: Everybody dreams of being a writer. I never thought I had what it takes. With the book, I really want to speak at schools, and I really want to talk to kids about following their dreams and doing what they want to do. It’s not easy. It takes hard work. If they’ve got the discipline and the drive, they can do anything. There are no limits. We only limit ourselves.