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Twisting Trails: North Star Kids of the Fur Trade Era
Twisting Trails is a unique young adult novel about two teenagers from different cultures who meet on the northwest frontier during the heyday of the fur trade (1831-1837), and their adventures encompass famous Minnesotans from that era. Alexander is a fictional Fort Snelling soldier who meets Seth Eastman, Henry Schoolcraft, Samuel and Gideon Pond, Henry Sibley, Joseph Nicollet, and Dred Scott. Angelique Reaume is a fictional Metis daughter to a French-Canadian voyageur and Ojibwe mother, who meets George Bonga, Pierre Bottineau, Joseph Renville, and Lawrence Taliaferro. The teenagers travel up the Mississippi, discovering how to make maple syrup, collect wild rice and hunt bison.
“In Twisting Trails, North Star Kids of the Fur Trade Era , author Michael Barnes has given us a compelling, well-written, historically accurate story about the Minnesota of nearly 200 years ago. His main character, Alexander Whitney, arrives at Fort Snelling in 1831 as a young Army private, eager for adventure in the new territory. Alex encounters prominent figures whose names readers will recognize. The book’s other characters offer insight into relations between the Army, Native Americans, and fur traders. Descriptions of the natural world, how people traveled, and what they ate and wore make for riveting reading. This reader hopes Twisting Trails is the first in a series.”
— Kit Naylor (a Minneapolis writer/editor/passionate reader)
“In Twisting Trails, North Star Kids of the Fur Trade Era , author Michael Barnes has given us a compelling, well-written, historically accurate story about the Minnesota of nearly 200 years ago. His main character, Alexander Whitney, arrives at Fort Snelling in 1831 as a young Army private, eager for adventure in the new territory. Alex encounters prominent figures whose names readers will recognize. The book’s other characters offer insight into relations between the Army, Native Americans, and fur traders. Descriptions of the natural world, how people traveled, and what they ate and wore make for riveting reading. This reader hopes Twisting Trails is the first in a series.”
— Kit Naylor (a Minneapolis writer/editor/passionate reader)
240 pages, Paperback
Published January 31, 2023
About the author
Michael Barnes
29 books1 followerLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Michael Barnes received a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario in 1964 and an M.Ed. from the University of Toronto in 1971.Hon. Inspector OPP 1991. Presiding Officer Canadian Citizenship Ceremonies 1995.
He has been a teacher and school principal, a correspondent for the Globe and Mail, a CBC freelancer, newspaper columnist for Southam and Thomson and an author of books on Canadian resources, particularly mining, northern communities and police work, mostly involving the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
Some of his books on the mining industry include The Scholarly Prospector: Don McKinnon, Looking Back COBALT, Looking Back KIRKLAND LAKE, Great Northern Ontario Mines, Gold in Ontario, Great Northern Characters, Kirkland Lake on the Mile of Gold, Timmins: The Porcupine Country and Fortunes in the Ground. An early book for children was Monster from the Slimes.
He lives in Haliburton, Ontario.
More details of his work may be found in the Members pages of the Writers Union of Canada website.
Michael Barnes may be contacted at michaelbarnes53@hotmail.com.
Michael Barnes received a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario in 1964 and an M.Ed. from the University of Toronto in 1971.Hon. Inspector OPP 1991. Presiding Officer Canadian Citizenship Ceremonies 1995.
He has been a teacher and school principal, a correspondent for the Globe and Mail, a CBC freelancer, newspaper columnist for Southam and Thomson and an author of books on Canadian resources, particularly mining, northern communities and police work, mostly involving the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
Some of his books on the mining industry include The Scholarly Prospector: Don McKinnon, Looking Back COBALT, Looking Back KIRKLAND LAKE, Great Northern Ontario Mines, Gold in Ontario, Great Northern Characters, Kirkland Lake on the Mile of Gold, Timmins: The Porcupine Country and Fortunes in the Ground. An early book for children was Monster from the Slimes.
He lives in Haliburton, Ontario.
More details of his work may be found in the Members pages of the Writers Union of Canada website.
Michael Barnes may be contacted at michaelbarnes53@hotmail.com.
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