The Legend of Mackinac Island

by Kathy-jo Wargin, Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen (Illustrator)

Overview

Legend and folklore of the Great Lakes region tell us that long ago, there was a large great turtle who floated quietly and gently upon a world made only of water—his name was Makinauk.

In this retelling of the legend about the creation of Mackinac Island, the wise and kind painted turtle Makinauk tells his friends Loon, Beaver, and Otter that now was the time to build a beautiful piece of land for all of the animals to rest upon, but that one of them must dive through the depths of the water and bring back a handful of soil to place upon his back. This, said Makinauk, would be the beginning of a brand new world.

First Loon, then Beaver, then Otter make the attempt to bring back the handful of soil to start this new land, but they fail to do so one after another and rest upon Makinauk's back in weary sorrow. When Muskrat swims along and hears of their plight, he too offers to attempt to retrieve the soil. The other animals laugh at small, weak Muskrat, but not wise Makinauk. And as Muskrat takes one long, deep breath, closes his eyes and dives into the water, the rest of the animals wait in anxious doubt to find out whether he succeeds.

A beautiful story of devoted friendship and perseverance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781886947122
Publisher:	Sleeping Bear Press
Publication date:	04/01/1999
Series:	Myths, Legends, Fairy and Folktales
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Kathy-jo Wargin is the author of more than 45 books and has earned national acclaim through award-winning children's classics such as Michigan's official state book, The Legend of Sleeping Bear, Children's Choice Award winner The Legend of the Loon, The Edmund Fitzgerald: Song of the Bell, and many others. Kathy-jo enjoys writing about nature, folklore, and its effect on all our lives. She is a frequent guest speaker and presenter for associations, school districts, and conferences throughout the country. She lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen was born in the Netherlands in 1951. With his seven brothers and sisters, he grew up exploring nature and his sketch pads were filled with observations from those family outings. Always drawing as a young boy, his father encouraged Gijsbert to make art his career. After high school, he attended and graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts in Arnhem, Holland.

Gijsbert, or "Mr. Nick" as many children affectionately call him during his school visits, immigrated to the United States in 1976 and worked as Art Director for the Michigan Natural Resources Magazine for 17 years. In 1995, he illustrated his first children's book, The Legend of Sleeping Bear, finally fullfilling his dream of illustrating children's books.

Residing in Bath, Michigan, Nick and his family share their 40-acre farm with sheep, horses, dogs, cats, turkeys, rabbits, chickens, pigeons and a revolving door of orphaned and injured wild life. The family's nature journals logged 20 years of wild life rehabilitation on the farm and it is through these journals that the popular Hazel Ridge series was created. The farm, the land and the animals make great subjects for the artist to paint.

Mr. Nick travels to schools and conferences to share his passion for drawing—encouraging kids to make their hobby their career.