John Coy & Gaylord Schanilec
My Mighty Journey: A Waterfall’s Story (Children’s Picture Book)

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About the Book
My Mighty Journey is the story of the only major waterfall on the Mississippi River—and the changes it has witnessed over twelve thousand years. Written from the perspective of the waterfall, the narrative considers the people who lived nearby, the ways they lived, and how the area around the waterfall changed drastically in the past two centuries.

Internationally acclaimed artist Gaylord Schanilec created stunning visual images featuring material collected along the riverbank to show the progression of the waterfall—eventually known as St. Anthony Falls—as it moved fifteen miles upriver from present-day St. Paul to its current location in downtown Minneapolis.

About the Author & Illustrator
Coy is the author of young adult novels, the 4 for 4 middle-grade series, and fiction and nonfiction picture books. He has received numerous awards for his work including a Marion Vannett Ridgway Award for best debut picture book and the the Kerlan Award in recognition of singular attainments in the creation of children’s literature.

Schanilac is known for his letterpress printing and artist’s books featuring natural history and landscape imagery. He is a frequent lecturer at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts and the University of Iowa.

About the Series
With cookies in one hand and coffee in the other, cozy up for six weeks of free readings. The Fireside Reading Series, one of The Friends’ longest-running and most popular events, annually highlights the work of some of Minnesota’s finest writers who have published a new work in the previous year.

This season, we’re asking our Fireside authors to talk about what our natural environment means to them. Our goal is to complement the citywide conversation happening this winter as part of Read Brave Saint Paul, an intergenerational reading program whose 2020 theme is our climate crisis.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

American Sign Language interpretation will be provided upon request with two weeks advance notice.

2020 Fireside Lineup

Wednesday, January 22
William Kent Krueger, This Tender Land

Wednesday, January 29
John Coy & Gaylord Schanilec, My Mighty Journey: A Waterfall’s Story

Wednesday, February 5
Staci Lola Drouillard, Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe

Wednesday, February 12
Laurie Allmann, An Hour from Now

Wednesday, February 19
Anika Fajardo, Magical Realism for Non-Believers: A Memoir of Finding Family

Wednesday, February 26
Ed Bok Lee, Mitochondrial Night