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Book Cover for: The Edmund Fitzgerald: The Song of the Bell, Kathy-Jo Wargin

The Edmund Fitzgerald: The Song of the Bell

Kathy-Jo Wargin

Winner:Michigan Notable Books -Notable Book (2004)

The bell rings forever where heroes are found, for the soul of the sailor is held in its sound.

Leaving port from Superior, Wisconsin on a sunny November day, the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald is looking forward to a routine crossing of deep Lake Superior. Heading for a port in Cleveland, the giant transport ship is loaded with ore that will be used to build cars. But disaster is building in the wind as a gale storm begins to track after the great ship. This suspenseful retelling of the last hours of the doomed vessel pays homage to all sailors who traverse deep waters, in fair skies and foul.

Atmospheric paintings from award-winning artist Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen bring the story to life. The author of the best-selling books The Legend of Sleeping Bear and The Legend of Mackinac Island, Kathy-jo Wargin aims to help young readers notice the most intricate details of a story by adding the nuances that create magic and wonder in a good tale.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
  • Publish Date: Sep 1st, 2003
  • Pages: 48
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 11.20in - 9.10in - 0.40in - 1.05lb
  • EAN: 9781585361267
  • Recommended age: 06-09
  • Categories: History - United States - State & LocalTransportation - Boats, Ships & Underwater CraftHistory - United States - 20th Century

About the Author

Wargin, Kathy-Jo: -

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.

Frankenhuyzen, Gijsbert Van: -

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.

Praise for this book

"The text is compelling, filled with action-packed verbs and vivid adjectives, enabling the reader to feel the fear of the captain and his crew and the power of Lake Superior that tossed that gigantic ship as if it were a toy boat in a bathtub. The true strength, power, and dynamism of the story lie in the double-page illustrations. Each illustration glows like an oil painting and perfectly complements the action-packed text... However, this is a well-written and beautifully illustrated piece of history. Recommended."
--"Library Media Connection" (May 2004)