Rain Taxi reviews Carnival Lights

By Shannon Gibney

An impressive work about family, survival, and what one character calls the “spiral” of all stories, Chris Stark’s Carnival Lights is part novel, part Minnesota history, part spiritual tome, and part brutal account of white racial and sexual violence. Centering on several generations of one Ojibwe family in both the northern and southern parts of the state and spanning the years 1860 to 1969, the book deftly shows how whites used land theft, intimidation, and sheer force to try to exterminate and remove Native communities, but also how the victims resisted and fought to keep their ways of life.

Even through so much devastation and loss, Carnival Lights asserts that the land—and everything living on it—remembers. At one point Sher recalls finding her father frozen to death in a field:

The trees, their outstretched arms and fingers cradling delicate lines of snow, heard and saw all of it, and it became part of them, recorded in their beings, in their flesh. Ring after ring, year after year, the Standing People recorded the story of the land. They absorbed, held, witnessed. The Standing People. The libraries of the earth. The collectors of knowledge, their limbs arching over the land, over life. Holding. Bending. Protecting.

The Standing People bearing witness to horrible acts of violence against the Ojibwe is one of the central themes in the book, and it provides a sense of accountability, if not consequence, for the ongoing and pernicious attacks.

Read the full review on Rain Taxi

A Mouse Tail on Mackinac Island [HC] -- RESALE ONLY

978-1-61599-655-1-RESALE
$29.95
In stock
1
Product Details
UPC: 978-1-61599-655-1
Brand: Modern History Press
Binding: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Author: Summer Porter
Illustrator: Maggie Chambers
Pages: 38
Publication Date: 05/01/222

On a warm summer day in northern Michigan, a family of mice finds their way to Mackinac Island, the "jewel of the Great Lakes," to start a new life. Tag along and enter a world of whimsy in A Mouse Tail on Mackinac Island.

Join the family--Father Mouse, a lover of cheese; Mother Mouse, a singer of lullabies; Max Mouse, a collector of stamps and Millie and Maizy Mouse, sweet little babies--as they search for the perfect home. What adventures will they have? Where will they live? What dangers will they encounter? With vibrant illustrations and a charming story, A Mouse Tail on Mackinac Island will capture both your heart and imagination.

"Soon to become a Mackinac favorite - make way for this amusing and entertaining story. Whimsical illustrations, filled with recognizable details, engage the reader throughout this thoughtful book. Who wouldn't want to join the little Mouse family on an island adventure?" --Jennifer Powell, author and illustrator, What I Saw on Mackinac

"Maggie Chambers and Summer Porter have created a fun and colorful adventure of a family of mice all readers will enjoy - and, like a bite of island fudge, A Mouse Tail on Mackinac Island will prove very satisfying!" --Jim Bolone, co-author, The Dockporter

"Magnifying the little things in life, A Mouse Tail on Mackinac Island is a charming story told with an educational twist. Heartwarming characters, a unique setting and glorious imagery will make this book a family favorite and Mackinac Island staple." -- Kate Dupre, local artist and proprietor, Watercolor Cafe

"This charming children's book captures the essence of Mackinac Island. A classic 'tail' for people of all ages that will spark a sense of wonder for years to come." --Mayor Margaret Doud, city of Mackinac Island

Learn more at www.MouseTailOnMackinac.com

From Modern History Press

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