Nicholas, A Maine Tale

Spry Publishing LLC
Peter Arenstam, illustrated by Karen Busch Holman
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Age range 5 to 12

To Nicholas, a small field mouse from Massachusetts, family is everything! A lovely leather journal chronicles all the important events of Nicholas’s family history. When it is destroyed in a flood, Nicholas sets off on a journey in search of his uncle and a copy of the precious journal. He crosses the state of Massachusetts in Book One and his adventures take him on to Maine (Book Two) following a cousin who has taken the copy of the journal with him when he traveled down east.

Nicholas discovers just how large and diverse a state Maine is as he searches for his cousin Francis. Along the way, he’ll learn a great deal about the state—the animals that live there, the geography, industries, and even the state’s history. He’ll make many new friends and perhaps even bump into an old friend on his travels across the great state of Maine.

Book Two in a four-book series about Nicholas’s adventures in the Northeast.

Contributor Bio

Peter Arenstam was born on a farm in western Massachusetts but grew up on the coast in historic Plymouth. He received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and apprenticed at the Maine Maritime Museum where he became an instructor and boat builder. Currently, Peter manages the Maritime Artisans at Plimoth Plantation where he oversees the reproduction ship Mayflower II. His writings include numerous magazine articles on nautical history and the children’s book Felix and His Mayflower II Adventures. Peter lives near the ocean in Plymouth with his wife Susan and their two daughters, Hannah and Abby.

Karen Busch Holman, a BFA graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, is the illustrator for the Mitt and Minn Midwest Series. Karen’s work as an illustrator first appeared in G is for Granite, A New Hampshire Alphabet, and its companion book, Primary Numbers, which solidified her career as an illustrator. She is also the creator of the art that adorns every New Hampshire Heirloom Birth Certificate. More of her work can be seen throughout New Hampshire in support of the Arts Council and in regional magazines and publications. She has actively shared her love of art with many elementary school children throughout New England. Karen now lives in Loveland, Ohio.