Books in Great Lakes Books Series series

A deep-sea diver, a dancer, an activist, an aviator, a singer, and a soldier-Great Girls in Michigan History highlights some of the girls from Michigan's past who did amazing things before they turned twenty years old. Author Patricia Majher presents easy-to-read mini-biographies of twenty girls with ties to Michigan, representing a variety of personal backgrounds and interests, locations across the state, and historical time periods. Majher introduces little-known stories, like those of female aviator Nancy Harkness (Love), pioneer Anna Howard Shaw, freedom seeker Dorothy Butler, professional baseball player Marilyn Jenkins, union leader Myra Komaroff (Wolfgang), and Native American writer Jane Johnston (Schoolcraft). She also includes figures that many readers will recognize-including First Lady Betty Bloomer (Ford), jockey Julie Krone, Motown star Diana Ross, and tennis champion Serena Williams. Majher shows that while life wasn't always easy for these girls, they were able to overcome any number of obstacles to achieve their goals. Great Girls in Michigan History includes a brief section on each girl's life after the age of twenty and a glossary of selected vocabulary words at the end of the book. With its depictions of young women who have not typically been represented in history texts, this book will be inspirational reading for upper elementary school students (ages 8 to 12) and welcomed by Michigan schools, bookstores, and public libraries.

Rosie, a Detroit Herstory is a remarkable story for young readers about women workers during World War II. At this time in history, women began working jobs that had previously been performed only by men, such as running family businesses, operating machinery, and working on assembly lines. Across America, women produced everything from ships and tanks, to ammunition and uniforms, in spectacular quantities. Their skill, bravery, tenacity, and spirit became a rallying point of American patriotism and aided in defining Detroit as the Arsenal of Democracy. Even though women workers were invaluable to the war effort, they met with many challenges that their male counterparts never faced. Yet, for all of their struggles, their successes were monumental. Today, we refer to them as "Rosies"-a group of women defined not by the identity of a single riveter but by the collective might of hundreds of thousands of women whose labors helped save the world.Rosie, a Detroit Herstory features informative, rhyming text by Bailey Sisoy Isgro and beautifully illustrated original artwork by Nicole Lapointe. The story begins with the start of the Second World War and the eventual need for women to join the American workforce as men shipped out to war. By the end of the story, readers will have a better understanding of who and what Rosie the Riveter really was, how Detroit became a wartime industrial powerhouse, and why the legacy of women war workers is still so important. A glossary is provided for more difficult concepts, as well as a timeline of events. SIsoy Isgro and Lapointe first came up with the idea for the book on a ten-hour drive to the 2017 Women's March in Washington, D.C., inspired by the overwhelming number of women who came together for the event. Rosie, a Detroit Herstory is written for children ages 8 to 12, but any reader interested in Detroit or women in history will appreciate this entertaining chronicle.

As the major gateway into British North America for travelers on the Underground Railroad, the U.S./Canadian border along the Detroit River was a boundary that determined whether thousands of enslaved people of African descent could reach a place of freedom and opportunity. In A Fluid Frontier: Slavery, Resistance, and the Underground Railroad in the Detroit River Borderland, editors Karolyn Smardz Frost and Veta Smith Tucker explore the experiences of the area's freedom-seekers and advocates, both black and white, against the backdrop of the social forces-legal, political, social, religious, and economic-that shaped the meaning of race and management of slavery on both sides of the river.In five parts, contributors trace the beginnings of and necessity for transnational abolitionist activism in this unique borderland, and the legal and political pressures, coupled with African Americans' irrepressible quest for freedom, that led to the growth of the Underground Railroad. A Fluid Frontier details the founding of African Canadian settlements in the Detroit River region in the first decades of the nineteenth century with a focus on the strong and enduring bonds of family, faith, and resistance that formed between communities in Michigan and what is now Ontario. New scholarship offers unique insight into the early history of slavery and resistance in the region and describes individual journeys: the perilous crossing into Canada of sixteen-year-old Caroline Quarlls, who was enslaved by her own aunt and uncle; the escape of the Crosswhite family, who eluded slave catchers in Marshall, Michigan, with the help of others in the town; and the international crisis sparked by the escape of Lucie and Thornton Blackburn and others.With a foreword by David W. Blight, A Fluid Frontier is a truly bi-national collection, with contributors and editors evenly split between specialists in Canadian and American history, representing both community and academic historians. Scholars of the Underground Railroad as well as those in borderland studies will appreciate the interdisciplinary mix and unique contributions of this volume.

Bold Boys in Michigan History-a companion to Great Girls in Michigan History-explores the stories of twenty boys who did some amazing things before they turned twenty years old. Author Patricia Majher presents easy-to-read mini-biographies about both highly acclaimed and lesser-known Michiganders, all of whom have led remarkable lives that will intrigue and inspire. This collection offers a diverse group that represents different cultures, time periods, and parts of the state. Woven into each chapter are life lessons that will encourage young readers to nurture their own passions and stand up for their beliefs. Some boys came from humble beginnings, including boxing champion Joe Louis, who used his athletic ability to raise his family out of poverty. Furtrapper Charles Langlade and Potawatomi chief Simon Pokagon fought hard to preserve their culture in a predominantly white world. Scientist Thomas Edison, Major League Baseball player Jim Abbott, and singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder excelled despite having physical disabilities. Some of the boys went on to become men who achieved great things in their chosen area of expertise. Success can come at any age, though, and can serve as motivation to those looking to be inspired. There are many books that celebrate great Michigan men, but very little has been written about accomplished young men. Bold Boys in Michigan History includes photographs, additional reading lists, and suggested places to visit around Michigan. Words that may be unfamiliar to some readers are highlighted in the text and defined in a glossary. Readers between the ages of 8 and 12 will love getting wrapped up in the stories of boys their own age who have lived extraordinary lives.

Marguerite de Angeli was born in Lapeer, Michigan, in 1889. As a child, she loved to hear her father tell the story of the red leather-topped copper-toed boots he prized when he was a boy.Recreating the mischievous adventures of that boy through a Michigan summer, Copper-Toed Boots escapes to a time of "tradin" with schoolmates, "tradin" at the store, and picnicking during blackberry season. Children of all ages will delight in this realistic portratyal of mid-nineteenth century rural life. From classroom antics to the day the circus comes to town, Marguerite de Angeli vivdly depicts the folk happenings of a little American town.

In Hollowed Ground, author Larry Lankton tells the story of two copper industries on Lake Superior-native copper mining, which produced about 11 billion pounds of the metal from the 1840s until the late 1960s, and copper sulfide mining, which began in the 1950s and produced another 4.4 billion pounds of copper through the 1990s. In addition to documenting companies and their mines, mills, and smelters, Hollowed Ground is also a community study. It examines the region's population and ethnic mix, which was a direct result of the mining industry, and the companies' paternalistic involvement in community building. While this book covers the history of the entire Lake Superior mining industry, it particularly focuses on the three biggest, most important, and longest-lived companies: Calumet & Hecla, Copper Range, and Quincy. Lankton shows the extent of the companies' influence over their mining locations, as they constructed the houses and neighborhoods of their company towns, set the course of local schools, saw that churches got land to build on, encouraged the growth of commercial villages on the margin of a mine, and even provided pasturage for workers' milk cows and space for vegetable gardens. Lankton also traces the interconnected fortunes of the mining communities and their companies through times of bustling economic growth and periods of decline and closure. Hollowed Ground presents a wealth of images from Upper Michigan's mining towns, reflecting a century and a half of unique community and industrial history. Local historians, industrial historians, and anyone interested in the history of Michigan's Upper Peninsula will appreciate this informative volume.

In My Forty Years with Ford, Charles Sorensen-sometimes known as "Henry Ford's man," sometimes as "Cast-iron Charlie"-tells his own story, and it is as challenging as it is historic. He emerges as a man who was not only one of the great production geniuses of the world but also a man who called the plays as he saw them. He was the only man who was able to stay with Ford for almost the full history of his empire, yet he never hesitated to go against Ford when he felt the interests of the company demanded it. When labor difficulties mounted and Edsel's fatal illness was upon him, Sorensen sided with Edsel against Henry Ford and Harry Bennett, and he insisted that Henry Ford II be brought in to direct the company despite the aging founder's determination that no one but he hold the presidential reins.First published in 1956, My Forty Years with Ford has now been reissued in paperback for the first time. The Ford story has often been discussed in print but has rarely been articulated by someone who was there. Here Sorensen provides an eyewitness account of the birth of the Model T, the early conflicts with the Dodge brothers, the revolutionary announcement of the five-dollar day, and Sorensen's development of the moving assembly line-a concept that changed our world. Although Sorensen conceived, designed, and built the giant Willow Run plant in nineteen months and then proceeded to turn out eight thousand giant bombers, his life's major work was to make possible the vision of Henry Ford and to postpone the personal misfortune with which it ended. My Forty Years with Ford is both a personal history of a business empire and a revelation that moves with excitement and the power of tragedy.

The Detroit Tigers covers the history of major league baseball in Detroit from its beginnings in 1881 through the 2007 season. With over 500 carefully selected photographs, most of which have not been published before, William M. Anderson presents the highlights and lowlights of each season and gives a context for appreciating the Detroit careers of the players whose images grace the pages of the book.The new edition of The Detroit Tigers begins with the historic final season of baseball at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull and prepares for a new century of baseball at Comerica Park, where the team has already made memories. Among the recent highlights covered in this volume are the Tigers being crowned American League champions in October 2006, Justin Verlander's no-hitter in June 2007, and the Tigers' historic trade in December 2007, which placed the team among the elite in baseball for the 2008 season. Anderson has traveled the county to find the most interesting and rarely seen photos for this volume, visiting all major repositories of baseball photographs as well as private collections. Presented chronologically with ample description, the photos form the core of this one-of-a-kind book. The new edition of The Detroit Tigers also includes a foreword by current president, CEO, and general manager of the Tigers, David Dombrowski. Tigers fans old and new will appreciate the exhaustive history and striking images presented in this volume.

In the port city of Manistee on the coast of Lake Michigan lives a girl named Mary. Mary's father is a sailor who works on a lake freighter called the Big Laker. The Big Laker delivers iron, stone, and coal to the many cities along the Great Lakes. Mary's father will not be home this year for his birthday and Mary wants to send him a card. But Mary's card can't be delivered by a mail carrier like other letters. Her father gets his mail by a pail!This is a delightful story that illustrates the mail delivery system for Great Lakes freighters. The J. W. Westcott Company operates the mailboat for the U.S. Postal Service marine post office in Detroit -the only mailboat that delivers mail to freighters while they are moving. The colorful pictures and expressive words in Mail by the Pail will interest young readers as well as anyone living in the states that border the Great Lakes.

2018 Midwest Book Awards WINNER for Children's FictionIn 1886, eleven-year-old Mihaela embarks on a journey from Croatia to the Keweenaw Peninsula, also known as Michigan's Copper Country. Mihaela's papa had made the trip two years beforehand in order to work in the copper mines so that he could send money back home, but a painful eye disease has left him vulnerable in a new land and in need of the skills of his wife, an expert healer. And so Mihaela, her mother, and two younger brothers leave their family farm in Croatia for what they assume will be a brief visit to America, only to find themselves faced with a great many challenges and a stay that will not be temporary after all. To the Copper Country: Mihaela's Journey is based on the family history of author Barbara Carney-Coston. Her ancestors made the voyage from Croatia to Michigan in the late nineteenth century, a time when many different groups were immigrating to the United States in search of a new life and better opportunities for their families. A common thread runs throughout the accounts of most immigrants, in terms of sacrifice, assimilation, and cultural contribution to a growing America. But Mihaela's story is unique in that her exploration of this new land is critical to her father's survival. Through extensive primary source materials, family interviews, and correspondence, Carney-Coston introduces readers to an exceptional narrative of the immigrant experience. Complete with a pronunciation guide, family recipes, and a bibliography, To the Copper Country aims to highlight a lesser-known ethnic group that made up part of the great migration of the late 1800s while also identifying parallels between today's immigrant experiences and those of the past. This book is suitable for young readers and would be an excellent tool for teaching empathy and Michigan history in the classroom.

In The Colored Car, Jean Alicia Elster, author of the award-winning Who's Jim Hines?, follows another member of the Ford family coming of age in Depression-era Detroit. In the hot summer of 1937, twelve-year-old Patsy takes care of her three younger sisters and helps her mother put up fresh fruits and vegetables in the family's summer kitchen, adjacent to the wood yard that her father, Douglas Ford, owns. Times are tough, and Patsy's mother, May Ford, helps neighborhood families by sharing the food that she preserves. But May's decision to take a break from canning to take her daughters for a visit to their grandmother's home in Clarksville, Tennessee, sets in motion a series of events that prove to be life-changing for Patsy. After boarding the first-class train car at Michigan Central Station in Detroit and riding comfortably to Cincinnati, Patsy is shocked when her family is led from their seats to change cars. In the dirty, cramped "colored car," Patsy finds that the life she has known in Detroit is very different from life down south, and she can hardly get the experience out of her mind when she returns home-like the soot stain on her finely made dress or the smear on the quilt squares her grandmother taught her to sew. As summer wears on, Patsy must find a way to understand her experience in the colored car and also deal with the more subtle injustices that her family faces in Detroit. By the end of the story, Patsy will never see the world in the same way that she did before. Elster's engaging narrative illustrates the personal impact of segregation and discrimination and reveals powerful glimpses of everyday life in 1930s Detroit. For young readers interested in American history, The Colored Car is engrossing and informative reading.

In Hollowed Ground, author Larry Lankton tells the story of two copper industries on Lake Superior-native copper mining, which produced about 11 billion pounds of the metal from the 1840s until the late 1960s, and copper sulfide mining, which began in the 1950s and produced another 4.4 billion pounds of copper through the 1990s. In addition to documenting companies and their mines, mills, and smelters, Hollowed Ground is also a community study. It examines the region's population and ethnic mix, which was a direct result of the mining industry, and the companies' paternalistic involvement in community building. While this book covers the history of the entire Lake Superior mining industry, it particularly focuses on the three biggest, most important, and longest-lived companies: Calumet & Hecla, Copper Range, and Quincy. Lankton shows the extent of the companies' influence over their mining locations, as they constructed the houses and neighborhoods of their company towns, set the course of local schools, saw that churches got land to build on, encouraged the growth of commercial villages on the margin of a mine, and even provided pasturage for workers' milk cows and space for vegetable gardens. Lankton also traces the interconnected fortunes of the mining communities and their companies through times of bustling economic growth and periods of decline and closure. Hollowed Ground presents a wealth of images from Upper Michigan's mining towns, reflecting a century and a half of unique community and industrial history. Local historians, industrial historians, and anyone interested in the history of Michigan's Upper Peninsula will appreciate this informative volume.