Michigan Fiction: A Reading List for Kids of All Ages

Okay, let me start by saying that in my reading life I’ve specialized in reading about Michigan. I was obsessed with the beauty of the tip of the mitt and while I only got to be there for three months a year, it was where my heart lived year-round. Where Michigan books are concerned, I’m a bit obsessed.

My latest favorite is not exactly fiction, but instead a wonderful memoir written by local author Ray Schairer, who has just published Barefoot Boy: A Year in the Life of a 1930s Farm Boy. Mr. Schairer, who is known more in the area for his musical pursuits as a craftsman and practitioner of musical bones, has written a straightforward account of his upbringing on his family’s farm at Parker and Jackson Roads. Without too much self-consciousness, and with a light touch on tough times, gives us a clear picture of life in these parts seven decades ago, when agriculture was the main occupation and he could travel into Chelsea on a train. I should mention that Mr. Schairer will be in our store on Saturday, November 22 at 2 pm, and that his visit will be a rare opportunity for those lucky enough to be there to learn more about local history and for those who were not here to experience it, a view into the past. The book is suitable for young readers, and it could be a time machine for anyone who partakes in the telling of these memories of a world that has nearly disappeared in our day.

One of the wonderful things about our state is that it lends itself to historical storytelling, especially for kids. From the voyageurs to the lumbermen to the rural farming communities, there are narratives from unforgettable characters. Of course, Hemingway’s Nick Adams Stories are some of the earliest examples. But there have been many volumes published over the years that cover our state’s past. These are chapter books that make history palpable for grade schoolers, and could even become the basis of a future trip to the northern part of the state. A perfect example is Christopher Paul Curtis, whose Bud, Not Buddy, the story of a young aspiring jazz musician, garnered him national attention. Most of his other books are set in Flint. Curtis’s most recent effort, Elijah of Buxton, is already winning accolades, including a Newbery Honor Award and the 2008 Great Lakes Book Award. In fact all of Curtis's books are set in Flint, and his imaginative mind makes each one a terrific read.

Other wonderful kids books related to Michigan are not hard to find. The Adventures of Pachelot is a series of books written by Wendy Caszatt-Allen, with two entries: The Last Voyage of the Griffon and the recently published Fort Brokenheart, from Mackinaw Island Press. And speaking of the place, Kim Delmar Cory’s Home to Mackinac, which was published several years ago by the Mackinac State Historic Parks, is also a great yarn, in which the hero goes to Mackinac Island to find out about his missing father and learns much as he works for the army as a bugler.

Harder to find than these books are those by Gloria Whelan, including the Island series, set during the War of 1812, when the British occupy Mackinac Island, and the Oriole Series, set in the days in which land north of Detroit (near Pontiac) is settled. More recently, Whelan also has published two other Michigan titles for slightly younger readers, Mackinac Bridge: The Story of A Five Mile Poem and Friend on Freedom River, both from Sleeping Bear Press. Her 2007 young adult novel, Summer of the War, won a New York Public Library award.

Another fine series is not exactly set in Michigan, but Louise Erdrich’s fine series, based on family history and set on Madeline Island (the largest of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior) give readers an accurate representation of the lives of Native Americans in the nineteenth century; The Birchbark House and The Game of Silence bring Omakayas and her Ojibwa tribe’s way of life into sharp focus, not shying away from the problems brought to the far north by European settlers. Erdrich is one of my favorite writers of adult fiction, but this kind of writing is the way all kids should get to learn history in a totally perfect world.

Well, I still have to cover adult fiction, but for now I will leave you with the thought that no matter how tough our times may be, we tough Michiganders have always had a knack for survival. I hope that some of the above books will make excellent reading for your entire family. I’ll have to write a part two to cover the rest of my territory.