Minn of the Mississippi reviewed by Bill Ectric
Posted: Monday, December 20, 2004
by Bill Ectric
Billectric
Minn of the Mississippi: Turtle On the River
Long before my young attention span could handle reading the entire text of this book, I sat for hours pouring over the fascinating illustrations. Minn of the Mississippi, by Holling Clancy Holling, left a lasting impression on me. It wasn’t as easy to read as The Cat In the Hat, but the detailed panoramas of river life, tugboats, floods, peaceful dark swamps, all told the story like a good movie that I could watch over and over again with the turning of pages. Eventually I did finish the entire text -- a landmark in my progress as a young reader. Recently, upon reading it again, was I impressed with the idea that this book is like the turtle version of On the Road.
Minn recovers from the wound and begins an amazing twenty-five year adventure which takes her down the entire length of the Mississippi river through several states, past river towns and cities, struggling over and under dams, captured on boats for a time, witnessing floods, encountering both humans and animals which are sometimes friendly and sometimes dangerous, laying eggs along the way, until at last she reaches the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf being too salty, Minn settles nearby in a New Orleans bayou with the help of some friendly fishermen.
The story ends with a message, or moral. Over the years, as humans were striving for wealth and possessions, the power of the river remained constant and just barely tamed by man’s technology. The riverbed where Minn now lives is covered with coins, gold treasures, rubies, diamonds, and emeralds, all from sunken ships of past pirates, businessmen, and riverboat gamblers. Did these riches mean anything to Minn the turtle? Holling writes:
“Thus Minn lived on a glittering heap – of what? Rich jewels, once more, were merely stones and one of the earth’s heaviest elements – melted neatly into golden wafers of equal weight – was returned again to the care of earth and water. For Minn, her doorstep of so-called treasure was only a hardness, like water-worn pebbles…"
Holling Clancy Holling wrote and illustrated several children’s books which have been used often by teachers to help kids learn about geography, history, zoology, and and anthropology. These books include Paddle-to-the-Sea (1941), Tree in the Trail (1942), Seabird (1948), Minn of the Mississippi (1951), and Pagoo (1957). He did a lot of research to make sure his books were accurate. Sometimes his wife, Lucille, helped with the illustrations.
Holling was born in Michigan on August 2, 1900. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago in 1923 and became a member of the zoology department at the Chicago Museum of Natural History from 1923 to 1926. He and Lucille Webster were married in 1925. Before becoming a full-time writer, Holling also worked as a teacher for New York University, a freelance designer, an advertising artist, and an illustrator for other people’s books. Mr. Holling died on September 7, 1973.
I would like to conclude with another quote from the book. This is the part where Minn the turtle passes through New Orleans, much of which is below sea level. I really like how Holling describes it:
“New Orleans is a cooking pan, a laughing face – and a rhythm. A soft humming runs down its levees like rain-trickles of sound. It comes from houses, mansions, shops and skyscrapers from dark alleys and day-bright boulevards from people working and people at play from feet hissing on dance floors, from hands beating, from singing mouths and the rhythm is cradled in crooning strings, a moaning of the trumpets, drums sobbing…And some of the rhythm has jungle in it it tells of other rivers, crocodiles, long cats and shadows of elephants…And as Minn went by, drums talked this New Orleans rhythm into the river night…"
Minn of the Mississippi was one of my favorite books as a child, and still is.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)I too was totally hypnotized by the illustrations in Minn of the Mississippi as a child growing up in the fifties. I found the scariest illustration to be the earthquake, yet I would return to the book and view them over and over. It was such a pleasure to run across Mr. Ectric's review and find he had the same experience as I with the illustrations. Thank you.It was nice of you to leave a comment. I see you are from Virginia. I grew up in a little town called Christiansburg, VA, which is about 20 miles from Blacksburg, or 30 miles from Roanoke. Beautiful state! I live in Florida now, but that's a whole other story. Thanks again!
I, also read this book as a child. I checked it out so many times from my school's library that they needed to fill out a new card for it! It was and still is one of my favorites!
I got excited about reading this book before we even got it, based on the reviews, so thank you! My daughter is 9 years old, and so far she's loving this book! I personally love how it comes across as if you're just reading a story, with illustrations of how it happens, and yet you're really learning ALOT about Science! It will definitely lead us into more research. :)That makes me glad I wrote it. Thank you, Bill
I love this book....My wife knew that I had liked this book and looked for it every time we went to the kids school librarys. Well one Christmas she suprised me with it as a gift, I never thought anything could touch me so much....Thanks John in Mt HollyThat was a great present to give someone!I bought the book right before I wrote the article and it was fun to read it again after all those years. I seem to remember the original book, the one I read in school as a kid, had more detailed artwork on the inside cover. Other than that, the newer version of the book is just as good.- Bill
This book was a major influence on my life and the lives of many turtles, snapping and otherwise, that were trying to cross the road to find a mate or vulnerable in some other way to the predicaments that turtles in in the modern world find themselves in. I hope I have conveyed this concern to others I have met along my way. Thank you for the review.
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