John, Wayne, and Duke are Belgian Draft horses that work together to draw a wagon on Mackinac Island, Michigan. They are
always hitched in the same order. The horses are so used to being together, they walk around in the same order even when they’re not working: John on the left, Wayne in the middle, and Duke on the right. One day a new stable boy teams them up differently, and things go haywire in this fun picture book for young readers.
A visit to Mackinac Island is like stepping into the Victorian era, when the island was a popular vacation destination. Still a popular destination with today’s tourists, automobiles are not allowed on the island, so all transportation is by bicycle, foot, or the popular horse-drawn buggy.
Today, the state park at Mackinac Island is, according to National Geographic magazine, one of the ten best state parks in the country. The buggy rides with horses like John, Wayne, and Duke remain popular and are the basis for this story.
About the Author
Cathe Hahn is the owner of a sail-making company in Harbor Springs, Michigan. She was inspired to write this story after she took her two little girls on a carriage ride around the island. She is a native of Michigan and this is her first book.
About the Illustrator
Bob Artley has worked as an illustrator for over fifty years. He began his career as an editorial cartoonist with the Des Moines Tribune and then with the Worthington (Minn.) Daily Globe. Artley has written and illustrated more than ten books, including Once Upon A Farm, Christmas on the Farm, and Living with Pigs. He also illustrated Oklahoma Book Award-winner Grady’s in the Silo, by Una Belle Townsend.
STEP UP!
A Mackinac Island Tale
By Cathe Hahn
Illustrated by Bob Artley
JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Horses
32 pp. 8 1/2 x 11
31 color illustrations
Ages 5-8 Grades K-3
ISBN: 9781589802148 hc