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MAKING SEAKER
When Jamie moves to Nipigon, Ontario, she’s not optimistic about making new friends at school. Jamie is passionate about science and engineering, and in her experience other girls don’t want to hang out with science nerds.
Still, Jamie doesn’t want a friendless future, so she sets out to be more likeable by becoming more like other kids. When she meets Beth who likes writing, Jamie claims to like it too. Then she trades her not-so-bad sandwich for a disgusting egg salad sandwich with Beth’s friend Raina, hoping the sacrifice will land her a friend. Instead she gets more gross lunches and is responsible for the writing in a group project. Jamie’s writing is terrible, and Raina and Beth are mad at her. Jamie’s social prospects look bleak.
But Jamie likes Nipigon and is fascinated by the story of Paddle-to-the-Sea, a fictional canoe trip that began in town. Jamie decides to build a trackable boat to recreate the journey of Paddle. She starts researching the tech for tracking the journey and searching for the best design for the boat.
When she tells her class about the project, Raina offers to help. Jamie is over-the-moon excited to have another girl to geek out with. But the project is fraught with complications—so is the friendship. And Jamie’s not sure she can salvage any of it.
Still, Jamie doesn’t want a friendless future, so she sets out to be more likeable by becoming more like other kids. When she meets Beth who likes writing, Jamie claims to like it too. Then she trades her not-so-bad sandwich for a disgusting egg salad sandwich with Beth’s friend Raina, hoping the sacrifice will land her a friend. Instead she gets more gross lunches and is responsible for the writing in a group project. Jamie’s writing is terrible, and Raina and Beth are mad at her. Jamie’s social prospects look bleak.
But Jamie likes Nipigon and is fascinated by the story of Paddle-to-the-Sea, a fictional canoe trip that began in town. Jamie decides to build a trackable boat to recreate the journey of Paddle. She starts researching the tech for tracking the journey and searching for the best design for the boat.
When she tells her class about the project, Raina offers to help. Jamie is over-the-moon excited to have another girl to geek out with. But the project is fraught with complications—so is the friendship. And Jamie’s not sure she can salvage any of it.
144 pages, Paperback
Published August 31, 2021
7 people want to read
About the author
Karen Autio
14 books31 followersKaren Autio is the author of picture books PLAYDATE SURPRISE and I CAN, TOO! (in French Moi aussi, je peux!) about accessibility, inclusion, and friendship.
Karen has also written a Middle Grade STEM novel called MAKING SEAKER, a tribute to the iconic book PADDLE-TO-THE-SEA, focused on science, self-realization, and friendship: Moving to a new town is tough, especially when you’re different. And Jamie’s not like most girls. She loves science and math and building things. But when she moves to Nipigon, Ontario, Jamie’s determined to have a future with friends.
Karen has also authored two illustrated chapter books called KAH-LAN THE ADVENTUROUS SEA OTTER and KAH-LAN AND THE STINK-INK, a narrative nonfiction picture book called GROWING UP IN WILD HORSE CANYON, and a trilogy of historical novels for young readers. She writes about events in Canada’s history that haven’t had much attention: Okanagan history, the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, tuberculosis and living in a sanatorium; spies, sabotage and internment during the First World War.
Karen also focuses on the value of family stories and heritage. When her Finnish-Canadian grandmother gave her a silver spoon and told her its tale, Karen had no idea it would lead her into a whole novel's worth of words. She learned that her grandmother's Finnish friends had members of their family from Port Arthur who died in the wreck of the Empress of Ireland. Karen researched the steamship and wove the ship's story into fictional Saara's life in SECOND WATCH.
When Karen asked her Finnish-Canadian grandparents to record their life stories, she was given a glimpse of her grandmother's brave yet mysterious battle against tuberculosis as a young mother. The idea for SAARA'S PASSAGE took tangible shape after Karen read letters written by her grandmother to her infant daughter, Karen's mother, letters that were discovered after her grandmother's death.
SAARA'S PASSAGE is the sequel to SECOND WATCH, and both books were shortlisted for the BC Chocolate Lily Award.
The third book in the trilogy about the Finnish-Canadian Mäki family is SABOTAGE. Told by both Saara and her brother John, SABOTAGE takes readers into a real-life world of espionage, sabotage, and paranoia in Canada in 1915!
Karen grew up in Nipigon, ON, and now lives in Kelowna, BC. For more information, visit www.karenautio.com and www.facebook.com/KarenAutioAuthor
View her author video where she speaks about SABOTAGE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ewhSR...
KAH-LAN AND THE STINK-INK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBelb...
Karen has also written a Middle Grade STEM novel called MAKING SEAKER, a tribute to the iconic book PADDLE-TO-THE-SEA, focused on science, self-realization, and friendship: Moving to a new town is tough, especially when you’re different. And Jamie’s not like most girls. She loves science and math and building things. But when she moves to Nipigon, Ontario, Jamie’s determined to have a future with friends.
Karen has also authored two illustrated chapter books called KAH-LAN THE ADVENTUROUS SEA OTTER and KAH-LAN AND THE STINK-INK, a narrative nonfiction picture book called GROWING UP IN WILD HORSE CANYON, and a trilogy of historical novels for young readers. She writes about events in Canada’s history that haven’t had much attention: Okanagan history, the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, tuberculosis and living in a sanatorium; spies, sabotage and internment during the First World War.
Karen also focuses on the value of family stories and heritage. When her Finnish-Canadian grandmother gave her a silver spoon and told her its tale, Karen had no idea it would lead her into a whole novel's worth of words. She learned that her grandmother's Finnish friends had members of their family from Port Arthur who died in the wreck of the Empress of Ireland. Karen researched the steamship and wove the ship's story into fictional Saara's life in SECOND WATCH.
When Karen asked her Finnish-Canadian grandparents to record their life stories, she was given a glimpse of her grandmother's brave yet mysterious battle against tuberculosis as a young mother. The idea for SAARA'S PASSAGE took tangible shape after Karen read letters written by her grandmother to her infant daughter, Karen's mother, letters that were discovered after her grandmother's death.
SAARA'S PASSAGE is the sequel to SECOND WATCH, and both books were shortlisted for the BC Chocolate Lily Award.
The third book in the trilogy about the Finnish-Canadian Mäki family is SABOTAGE. Told by both Saara and her brother John, SABOTAGE takes readers into a real-life world of espionage, sabotage, and paranoia in Canada in 1915!
Karen grew up in Nipigon, ON, and now lives in Kelowna, BC. For more information, visit www.karenautio.com and www.facebook.com/KarenAutioAuthor
View her author video where she speaks about SABOTAGE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ewhSR...
KAH-LAN AND THE STINK-INK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBelb...
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 10, 2021
New to Nipigon, Ontario, Jamie Sola feels positively disheartened on her first day of school in her grade 4/5 class. All she wants to do is fit in, but do any of her new classmates want to get to know her? It doesn’t seem like it. Jamie hopes they don’t find out that she loves science, math, technology, art and engineering. She doesn’t want to be friendless.
Jamie’s family visits Nipigon’s Paddle to the Sea Park, based on Holling C. Holling’s tremendously popular book, written in 1941. Paddle to the Sea is the tale of an Indigenous boy who carves a wooden canoe and the man inside it. The canoe is left in a stream and floats from one Great Lake to another on its way to the sea. Could Jamie build a modern mini-boat using technology and engineering skills to do the same trip as the boat in the story? Will any of the students in her class be interested in what she’s doing or find it exciting the way she does? Life isn’t always smooth and it’s seldom perfect. Jamie learns that quickly, as she tries to get her boat’s technology and design working properly, as well as her relationships with her classmates. As a career educator, I am certain students and teachers are going to love this one. Another in a long string of Karen Autio’s splendid children’s books, Making Seaker inspires learning in the best possible way: mistake, discussion, improvement, leap for joy, mistake, testing, solution. Highly recommended.
Eileen Holland, award-winning author of the chapter books Sophie Trophy and Sophie Trophy Too.
Jamie’s family visits Nipigon’s Paddle to the Sea Park, based on Holling C. Holling’s tremendously popular book, written in 1941. Paddle to the Sea is the tale of an Indigenous boy who carves a wooden canoe and the man inside it. The canoe is left in a stream and floats from one Great Lake to another on its way to the sea. Could Jamie build a modern mini-boat using technology and engineering skills to do the same trip as the boat in the story? Will any of the students in her class be interested in what she’s doing or find it exciting the way she does? Life isn’t always smooth and it’s seldom perfect. Jamie learns that quickly, as she tries to get her boat’s technology and design working properly, as well as her relationships with her classmates. As a career educator, I am certain students and teachers are going to love this one. Another in a long string of Karen Autio’s splendid children’s books, Making Seaker inspires learning in the best possible way: mistake, discussion, improvement, leap for joy, mistake, testing, solution. Highly recommended.
Eileen Holland, award-winning author of the chapter books Sophie Trophy and Sophie Trophy Too.
November 9, 2021
Karen Autio has a new book out for ages 9-12. Her character Jamie Sola, has just moved to a new town and school. With that, brings age-old problems of trying to fit in, and making new friends. But she already feels like an outsider because she loves math, science and building projects. She is determined though, and at first she feels that she has to like things that she really doesn’t. Like writing, and her friend’s egg salad sandwiches. Both fail dismally to win her new friends.
What she is fascinated with is the story of Paddle to the Sea, in which an indigenous boy carves a small wooden canoe, puts a man inside it, and sets it in a river that takes it from one Great Lake to another and finally to the sea. So she sets about building her own to do just that. She mentions it shyly to her class, and she finds a new friend that is interested in helping her. Perfect, right? Unfortunately not. The project and her friendships that begin from there are fraught with problems from the start. But Jamie is not giving up.
This story will appeal to any child who feels like they stand alone, who likes building projects and seeing them to the end, and anyone who thinks that no one else makes mistakes but them – just about every kid I know…
I highly recommend this book for kids for Christmas or for any other reason.
Congratulations on another great book Karen Autio!
What she is fascinated with is the story of Paddle to the Sea, in which an indigenous boy carves a small wooden canoe, puts a man inside it, and sets it in a river that takes it from one Great Lake to another and finally to the sea. So she sets about building her own to do just that. She mentions it shyly to her class, and she finds a new friend that is interested in helping her. Perfect, right? Unfortunately not. The project and her friendships that begin from there are fraught with problems from the start. But Jamie is not giving up.
This story will appeal to any child who feels like they stand alone, who likes building projects and seeing them to the end, and anyone who thinks that no one else makes mistakes but them – just about every kid I know…
I highly recommend this book for kids for Christmas or for any other reason.
Congratulations on another great book Karen Autio!
November 19, 2021
“Making Seaker” highlights how it can be tough to start a new school, especially right at the end of the year. After a rough start, we see Jamie Solas begin to realize there are other kids who have interests like hers, and she doesn’t need to fake it to make friends.
Jamie overcomes her interpersonal speedbumps through the vehicle of her inspired project to ‘re-enact’ the journey taken by Paddle-to-the-Sea in the book of the same name, finding friends and reassurance in a supporting community that forms around her.
Jamie overcomes her interpersonal speedbumps through the vehicle of her inspired project to ‘re-enact’ the journey taken by Paddle-to-the-Sea in the book of the same name, finding friends and reassurance in a supporting community that forms around her.
November 16, 2021
For Jamie Sola, navigating the unpredictable waters of peer relationships is proving even more challenging than maneuvering a toy boat through the waterways connecting Nipigon, Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean.
Having recently moved to Nipigon, Jamie's love of science leads her to try to recreate the journey travelled by a miniature carved canoe with paddler, featured in the 1941 fictional tale--Paddle to the Sea. Though she's only in grade four, Jamie already has a good understanding of science, but she has little confidence when it comes to socializing, and in order to make friends at her new school, she pretends to be someone she isn't, in the hope that she'll fit in. At first it seems to work, but in the long run, it comes back to bite her. It isn't until she realizes that the only one she can be with consistency and comfort is herself, that she discovers that is who she should have been in the first place.
Making Seaker is a great read for kids. It is a wonderful transition vehicle to help youngsters make that move from early chapter books to middle grade novels. The friendship thread will ring true with many kids, and the adventure aspect of the reenactment of Paddle to the Sea will stir the imaginations of many to attempt something similar.
Who says science can't be fun!
Having recently moved to Nipigon, Jamie's love of science leads her to try to recreate the journey travelled by a miniature carved canoe with paddler, featured in the 1941 fictional tale--Paddle to the Sea. Though she's only in grade four, Jamie already has a good understanding of science, but she has little confidence when it comes to socializing, and in order to make friends at her new school, she pretends to be someone she isn't, in the hope that she'll fit in. At first it seems to work, but in the long run, it comes back to bite her. It isn't until she realizes that the only one she can be with consistency and comfort is herself, that she discovers that is who she should have been in the first place.
Making Seaker is a great read for kids. It is a wonderful transition vehicle to help youngsters make that move from early chapter books to middle grade novels. The friendship thread will ring true with many kids, and the adventure aspect of the reenactment of Paddle to the Sea will stir the imaginations of many to attempt something similar.
Who says science can't be fun!
October 20, 2021
I loved Paddle to the Sea, so I was excited to read Making Seaker. It did not disappoint! Jamie’s journey navigating friendships and being the new girl has the reader cheering her on in all her endeavors. I loved how the author included a STEM focus woven throughout and the perseverance and growth of the main character. This is a wonderful book to use in the classroom as so many activities and learning opportunities can be taken from it.
August 13, 2023
The narrative of Making Seaker flows beautifully from start to finish. Not once, did I stumble over phrasing, catch myself wondering about the point of a chapter, or get bored waiting for the next thing to happen. As a result, it took less than 24hours for this swift narrative to come to a close and for me to wish there'd be a sequel.
What's the specific appeal?
For one, the characters are wonderfully authentic and balanced. Their skills, interests, and behaviours are often intriguing, comical, relatable, or heart-warming. They enter the narrative as family and community members, not typecasts meant to entertain, provoke controversy, or promote one point of view. How refreshing.
Second, characters resolve differences not by flashy plot tricks, but through mediation, patience, and the development of emotional resilience. These social takeaways would be valuable, achievable, and empowering for middle grade readers, as well as, any adult who has the delight of reading this book.
Third, while the main character, Jamie, often considers herself a nerd, she proves herself to be a very cool person. She knows how to build, how to solve problems, and develop her interests. These character traits are consistently proven throughout the narrative in believable, age-appropriate thoughts and actions.
Overall, I loved this book and wish it could become required reading for Grade 4,5, and 6 classrooms. It has all the goods that books with more publicity claim to have but don't deliver.
What's the specific appeal?
For one, the characters are wonderfully authentic and balanced. Their skills, interests, and behaviours are often intriguing, comical, relatable, or heart-warming. They enter the narrative as family and community members, not typecasts meant to entertain, provoke controversy, or promote one point of view. How refreshing.
Second, characters resolve differences not by flashy plot tricks, but through mediation, patience, and the development of emotional resilience. These social takeaways would be valuable, achievable, and empowering for middle grade readers, as well as, any adult who has the delight of reading this book.
Third, while the main character, Jamie, often considers herself a nerd, she proves herself to be a very cool person. She knows how to build, how to solve problems, and develop her interests. These character traits are consistently proven throughout the narrative in believable, age-appropriate thoughts and actions.
Overall, I loved this book and wish it could become required reading for Grade 4,5, and 6 classrooms. It has all the goods that books with more publicity claim to have but don't deliver.
December 4, 2021
A tightly written and enjoyable novel about Jamie, a 4th grade girl who loves math and science but hides her interests in an attempt to fit in with classmates at her new school. She discovers others with similar interests when she finally comes clean about what she really enjoys doing. I loved all the details about modifying a toy boat so that it could replicate the canoe journey in Paddle-to-the-Sea and I loved the nuanced character growth not only for Jamie, but also for her expanding network of friends. I started reading this late last night and stayed up til 2am to finish it!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews