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Editor and Publisher Anne Brataas of Grand Marais represented Minnesota Children’s Press at the awards book signing Saturday, October 16, at the Twin Cities Book Fair. Photo courtesy of Anne Brataas
A child-authored and illustrated book A Children’s History of Grand Marais, Minnesota: Ice Cream & Fish (2020, Minnesota Children’s Press) was honored as a finalist in the Minnesota Author Awards, Minnesota Write Reads project.
Publisher and Editor Anne Brataas, executive director of the Minnesota Children’s Press (MCP) attended the Twin Cities Book Fair that was held on the State Fair grounds on October 16. Anne said the children who authored and illustrated the book didn’t attend the event to minimize the risk of coronavirus spread.
Ice Cream & Fish was one of three books honored in the Community Creates category of the Minnesota Author awards. The book was showcased at the Fair’s book signing table and praised by customers, said Anne, for its joyful stories about the community coping creatively in the coronavirus pandemic summer of 2020.
Some history
MPC opened in Grand Marais on March 12, 2020, with its Story Scouts Children’s Publishing Club, an entrepreneurial writing and illustration club held after school at the Cook County YMCA—just one day before Cook County schools closed due to the pandemic. Said Brataas, “We were lucky to have that one day to meet so many kids in Story Scouts at the YMCA, and then to build on that relationship to resume the creative connection later in the summer. The result was this book—kids were so eager to be outside and engaged in a creative project and did a fantastic job!”
Anne Brataas with David Unowsky, former owner of St. Paul’s Hungry Mind bookstore. Unowsky is now a publishing consultant working with Anne.
The project brought young and old together and was truly a compilation of community effort. The book’s archival research and historical accounts were written and illustrated by Linnea Ljosenvoor, age 12, and Iris Works, 10 with help from the Cook County History Museum’s Katie Clark, and generosity of time and oral history interviews with Grand Marais natives such as Gordon and Joyce Lindquist. Additional illustrations the children painted for a poster parade to Cook County Care Center brighten the book and were created by 14 Cook County children ages 5-10 in the YMCA Day Camp. Sammie Garrity, 15, illustrated a 200-year timeline of significant chapters in Cook County’s history, and stick-figure illustration mentor, Kip Hathaway, helped connect the story with stick figure characters.
Goals and brainstorming with Bob Pratt
Brataas said the book began as a pandemic relief project in the MCP’s Outdoor Book Camp, which was generously funded in August 2020 by the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation of Duluth, and dedicated to the life of Grand Marais native, educator and indefatigable mentor, the late Bob Pratt. With the Lindquists and Anne over coffee at the Lindquist’s home, Bob shared his vision in April 27, 2018, for engaging children in the community. The four gave the effort the working title, “The Wisdom Project.”
Goals established for the first book were threefold. The first was to further young children’s social and emotional learning, as well as physical and mental health by easing the isolation and disruption posed by the school’s closure.
The second goal was to have the project function as a pilot and proof-of-concept demonstration for the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation of Duluth to showcase young children’s remarkable ability to research, write, illustrate, publish and sell local history books. And thirdly, Brataas explained, the goal was to “Mentor and teach the many 21st century practical and digital skills required to research, write, edit, illustrate, design, integrate text and pictures, budget and sell our books.
All of those goals were met, and the MCP received more funding from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation to produce four more books. “We are so happy, and so grateful for all of the support from local resident merchants who sell our books, and the Llyod K. Johnson Foundation for believing in us and helping support us,” Anne said.
What’s next?
As Story Scouts’ research and production progresses on these books, many of you will be hearing from Story Scouts seeking oral interviews about life in Cook County—past and present. “And” said Anne, “If you don’t hear from us, please contact us. We want to hear your stories of people, places, events, as well as to see photos, letters, diaries or historical artifacts that provide insights into this remarkable community.”
To learn more about the Story Scouts’ Cook County History Project and offer insights, interview topics, sources, artifacts and ideas, please contact anne@minnchildpress.org.
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