March 29, 2024
BOOK REVIEW

‘Porcupine’ celebrates small-town Maine

Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by authors from Maine or set in the Pine Tree State.

LAND OF THE PORCUPINE, GROWING UP IN MADAWASKA, by Ronald Stewart, Salt Ponds Press, a division of Islandport Press, Yarmouth, 2004, paperback, 163 pages, $14.95.

Ronald Stewart, of Scottish descent and Canadian roots, tells a very human tale about living in the Aroostook County town of Madawaska during the mid-20th century. Readers experience the “Land of the Porcupine” through his eyes as a child, a teen, a young adult and as Madawaska’s experienced town manager.

The nonfiction book is rich with culture and important detail but does not become bogged down in extraneous information or side stories that do not add to the central theme.

Stewart simply wants to convey what it was like to grow up in the small Maine town perched on the banks of the St. John River, which forms the border with Canada. He wants readers to know his family – from his perspective – and to appreciate the opportunities that only a small town can give its people.

He explains the area’s link with Canada, using his personal story to illustrate the very practical realities of a border community. He includes just enough pictures to confirm the personalities he paints in words, and to let readers see real images of a growing mill town in the hey day of papermaking in Maine.

Stewart gives us a sense of history in the first few pages, including an explanation for his title: “Land of the Porcupine,” which is the English translation of the Maliseet Indian word “Madawaskaki,” and how the Acadians came to dominate the culture.

In his life journey, Stewart takes readers through the early days of the Fraser paper mill in Madawaska, the World War years, his growing up and early years of his marriage, and inevitable changes in small town life.

Stewart went to schools in Edmundston, New Brunswick, and earned his bachelor of arts degree in public management. His university work was interrupted by his service in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

He became Madawaska’s town manager when he was in his mid-20s. It was the beginning of a lifetime of public service, including city manager in Brewer.

Stewart and his wife Shirley currently live in Bath. At the time of the book’s printing, he was a volunteer with the Maine Ombudsman Program, which has trained advocates that help consumers deal with problems associated with long-term care.

It is evident in the nostalgic way Stewart tells his stories about the town and its people that he holds a special place for them in his heart. It’s a great book and well worth reading.

THE LITTLE GREEN ISLAND WITH A LITTLE RED HOUSE: A BOOK OF COLORS AND CRITTERS, by Sharon Lovejoy, Down East Books, Camden, 2005, 32 pages, hardcover, $9.95.

This delightful children’s book can be read quickly or savored slowly, and the reader will be rewarded either way.

Author and illustrator Sharon Lovejoy, who has a house on an island in South Bristol, is able to literally show the reader the different layers of life on a small island off the coast of Maine. She teaches children about different colors beyond the standard box of crayons or markers, the different traits and habits of the island’s wildlife, and the island’s diversity.

The illustrations, although simple, are carefully detailed to give children a realistic view of the island’s flora and fauna, and reflect Lovejoy’s experience as a naturalist and garden writer who notices important details of the world immediately around her.

I enjoyed the subtleties within this book: for example, the words “upside down” appearing upside down on the page about the bat; the drippings on the word “slimy” on the snail’s page; the cricket peeking out of the “o” in the word “hole;” the polka dots in the words describing the lady bug; the word “little” that describes every creature because it’s “The Little Green Island with a Little Red House”; each word depicting a color is written in the color mentioned. There are too many others to mention.

Lovejoy shares the wonder she feels with her readers, now it’s your turn to see what treasures you can find.

Julie Murchison Harris can be reached at 990-8285 and jharris@bangordailynews.net.


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