Father Marquette and the Great Rivers

by August Derleth

This Vision book for youth 9 - 15 years old tells the thrilling story of one of America's greatest missionaries who came down from Canada with explorer Louis Joliet to explore the mighty Mississippi River, the "great river" bordered by Indian tribes who killed white men on sight.

Of the few who had dared explore this immense waterway, none had lived to return and report where it emptied. If he could travel to the mouth of the "great river", Fr. Marquette hoped to obtain new lands for France and new souls for Jesus Christ. He braved the dangers of tomahawks and tortures to bring the Word of God to the Indians of the New World. Rapids, floods, Indian superstitions, tribal warfare - these are only a few of the obstacles Father Marquette and Louis Joliet encountered in trying to meet their challenge. Illustrated.

Genres: Childrens, American History, Catholic, Biography

139 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the Cosmic Horror genre, as well as his founding of the publisher Arkham House (which did much to bring supernatural fiction into print in hardcover in the US that had only been readily available in the UK), Derleth was a leading American regional writer of his day, as well as prolific in several other genres, including historical fiction, poetry, detective fiction, science fiction, and biography

A 1938 Guggenheim Fellow, Derleth considered his most serious work to be the ambitious Sac Prairie Saga, a series of fiction, historical fiction, poetry, and non-fiction naturalist works designed to memorialize life in the Wisconsin he knew. Derleth can also be considered a pioneering naturalist and conservationist in his writing

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augus...]

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book about a great Saint among the Indians in the 1600s.

[Christine Calabrese · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a compelling book; it explores a Catholic missionary's struggles in Canada. Most importantly, it touched my soul. I now have greater insight and respect for the sacrifices and numerous challenges Catholic priests faced in their efforts to evangelize the New World. It's a fantastic book for kids!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the Catholic gift shop of the National Shrine of the Little Flower in San Antonio, Texas. A beautiful basilica despite the location and lack of use. This book is part of a series of biographies about various Saints and is aimed at young readers. I enjoy history and I'm hardly young but I know close to nothing about the colonial period in the midwestern US. References to Marquette and Joliet are so common in the midwest, that I had to learn more.

What a thrilling and enthralling story! The French priest Marquette comes to North America to convert the natives. The book follows his journey from the nascent city of Quebec, across the Great Lakes, then south down the Mississippi River to Arkansas while building missions and preaching the gospel along the way. The author provides detailed descriptions of the unique land, plants, animals, seasonal weather and exotic peoples of the region. All of which creates the backdrop of a wild land full of dangers. I find it hard to imagine someone making this trip which I estimate to be 1900 miles (one way!). Marquette led a company of only seven men to go meet Native Americans numbering in the thousands!

I recommend this book to young readers who enjoy stories of adventure in the same style as a Jack London novel.

[Melissa Swearingen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has some good elements of Fr Marquette’s life and work and is a compelling story, but also a very strong hero narrative and some disparaging descriptions of the Native peoples. This was a pre-read for me for school and while I do think we’re going to use it as a read aloud, I will do some real time editing as well as setting up discussion topics for my oldest. I wouldn’t use it without having already done a fair amount of study of native people, giving them a voice and a narrative before the introduction of Europeans. I also wouldn’t let this be used in isolation apart from discussions and other books about the native perspective, the challenges of new people coming with stronger weapons, government structures, and cultural/religious concepts. Both sides have a voice and we need to view our history with nuance and the ability to see good and bad on all sides. It’s not only true but valuable as we learn about human tendencies, consider justice, and appreciation of difference. Lots to discuss here but make sure you’re having the conversations, not just reading it as fact.

[Millay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Father Marquette was an educational story of a missionary from France. Let me just say that...well, it was a book. It is a book that I read and enjoyed but probably won't read again. Though I normally do enjoy biographic stories, this one was a little deadpan. The story was interesting, but the execution was blah.
Louis Joliet was my favorite "character". The problem I had with Father Marquette was the fact that he was a bit "over-saved". To the point of where he wasn't afraid to die...and it was creepy. Though I understand that the book was about Father Marquette, I wish it had elaborated on Louis.
Overall, the book was clean, well-written, and interesting. I recommend for all ages for there is no profane content. I'm sorry for such a short review. God bless!

[Rhonda Mannino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Father Marquette dreamt of being a missionary, and he was relieved by the Indians very well. I was sad to read the 18 months of his life he was commissioned to explore, and he had to keep moving. He had no time to evangelize. I take some consolation that he paved the way for others to follow him and love the souls he loved. If you want to read some North American history, this is a good book. Look at a map from 1650 and see how what he needed to discover. I had to have a modern map and that one to see his challenges.

[Rachel Dorminy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. We used it as a spine for Geography this term, which was a perfect follow-up from last term’s Paddle to the Sea. We really enjoyed expanding our knowledge of the Great Lakes into the great rivers of the Mississippi and Missouri.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this book with my 4th grade son. Excellent!

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well told story of Father Marquette. Read for school 24-25.

[Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved learning about Father Marquette in this book! I love him so much! Very good book

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and familiar.