Great Ships on the Great Lakes: A Maritime History

By Catherine M. Green, Jefferson J. Gray, & Bobbie Malone

Take a rip-roaring journey through the waterways of the Great Lakes in this book for young readers. The book explores the history of the region’s rivers, lakes, and inland seas—and the ships and people who navigated them, battled upon them, and settled along them. Great Ships on the Great Lakes tells of the first Great Lakes paddlers who traveled tributaries in birch bark canoes and of the European voyageurs who braved the risks of the Great Lakes for the rewards of beaver pelts. The book also captures the stories of settlers who built cities along the shores and of the sailors, lighthouse keepers, and shipping agents whose livelihoods depended on the often-dangerous waters of the lakes: Michigan, Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.

Great Ships on the Great Lakes tells of the sea battles, treacherous storms, and unexpected tragedies that sent thousands of ships to the bottom of these so-called low seas. Readers are brought along on miraculous rescues and get to tag along with underwater archaeologists as they dive into the mysteries of Great Lakes shipwrecks.

Learn how the shift from sail to steam forever changed the history of shipping, as schooners made way for steamships and bulk freighters, and sailing became more of a recreation than a hazardous way of life.

Designed for the upper elementary classroom with emphasis on Michigan and Wisconsin, Great Ships on the Great Lakes includes a timeline of events, on-page vocabulary, and a list of resources and places to visit. More than twenty maps highlight the region’s maritime history. The accompanying Teacher’s Guide includes eighteen classroom activities, arranged by chapter, including lessons on exploring shipwrecks and learning how glaciers moved across the landscape.