Newcastle upon Tyne

When I was a child my passion was exploring the back-alleys and narrow passageways of my native city. One particular long-ago day when thunder rumbled across the river and rain clouds hovered over the coal barges in a thick gray shroud, I sheltered beneath the smut-grimed arches of the ancient castle walls. Rain splashed over the parapets and sluiced into the gutters. And through the gloom I spied a shabby little shop gouged out of the soot-stained stones. A weathered sign creaked in the wind. Barlow’s Bygones.

The door was warped and a rusty bell clanked dejectedly. Inside smelled of damp mold and the powdered bones of long-dead beasties. An old man stood in the shadows dressed in a long duster coat. Rimless spectacles perched on a nose almost lost under bushy eyebrows, and curls of gray hair sprouted from protruding ears.

 “Benjamin Barlow at your service.” His voice rasped. “Look around, bonnie lassie.”

Surrounding him in piles were musty books, rolled up maps, a muddle of old medals and badges, baskets of buttons. Even a rusty dagger festooned with sticky spider webs. Thrilled, I searched through the treasure trove until I discovered a wolf head’s carving, two inches long with a neat hole chiseled through the creature’s neck. Despite being whittled from bone it lay warm as a new-laid egg in the palm of my hand. I ached to possess it. Who had made it? Why? For what purpose?

“How much?” I whispered.

“Whatever you have,” wheezed the old man.

I emptied my pockets onto his worn wooden counter. A half crown. Two sixpences. One threepenny bit. Mr. Barlow smiled and hummed as he wrapped my precious prize in brown paper and tied it with string. “For you, lass. Weaver of dreams.”

Newcastle upon Tyne

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Janet Graber grew up by the sea in northern England, a magical place of fairy-tale castles, golden beaches, desolate moors, gray stone walls, and woodlands ablaze with bluebells and snowdrops. Her vivid childhood memories include imaginary games on the ancient Roman Wall, burying treasure on Holy Island, and summer holidays at Granny Drummond’s cottage in Kirk Yetholm. Although she has lived in many places all over the world since, her heart remains firmly in the land of her birth. Visit Janet’s website.

I’m working on a picture book about place like nothing I’ve done before. When I first started writing stories, I worked as a tour guide for the Minnesota Historical Society at Saint Anthony Falls in downtown Minneapolis. I became fascinated by the story of the only large waterfall on the Mississippi River and how it eroded upstream over twelve thousand years from what is now downtown St. Paul.

Saint Anthony Falls today (Adobe Stock)

One day, the writer Marsha Wilson Chall took a tour with a school group. Afterwards, she said, “I’m sure you’ll get a picture book out of this place.”

Twenty-three years later, we have a contract for My Mighty Journey: A Waterfall’s Story. It’s first person waterfall, a category of books that is fairly limited. Gaylord Schanilec, the artist, is working with a team of other artists on stunning illustrations. Gaylord agreed to make art for the book on two conditions: one, he and I would walk by the river over the course of a year, and two, we would not have a deadline for the project. The editor, Shannon Pennefeather, and I agreed to both.

Gaylord Shanilec and John Coy at Shanilec’s studio, working on My Mighty Journey: A Waterfall’s Story

Having no deadline opened up opportunities to talk with many people. Europeans and their descendants have been here for less than three percent of the time people have lived by the Falls. We’ve been fortunate to work with Diane Wilson, Ernie Whiteman, and the team at Dream of Wild Health, a Native American farm that grows and gathers food using knowledge that’s been handed down for thousands of years. Diane and Ernie have generously shared their expertise and introduced new ways of seeing the waterfall, time, and how we live. We’re grateful to them and the Dakota and Ojibway people who have lived here for thousands of years for providing a deeper understanding of place. 

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John Coy (photo: Anna Min)

John Coy is the author of young adult novels, the 4 for 4 middle-grade series, and fiction and nonfiction picture books. He has received numerous awards for his work including a Marion Vannett Ridgway Award for best debut picture book, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor, Bank Street College Best Book of the Year, Notable Book for a Global Society, the Burr/Warzalla Award for Distinguished Achievement in Children’s Literature and the Kerlan Award in recognition of singular attainments in the creation of children’s literature. John lives in Minneapolis and visits schools around the world. Visit johncoy.com.