It's not frequent that a picture book focused on an anthropomorphized sailboat gets the "based on a true story" label, but Lily Leads the Way might be the exception.
Author Margi Preus recalls many trips under the lift bridge on a small sailboat that she and her husband owned. "In those days, you had to signal the bridge... with a horn," says Preus. "We had this little, short tooty horn." Traffic in the Duluth canal - where protagonist Lily is headed - can be heavy and intimidating. Lily's adventures traveling around the port are aided by the works of illustrator Matt Myers. "He's just an amazing illustrator."
Lily Leads the Way has been nominated for the Northeastern Minnesota Book Awards and is available at most bookstores. "I encourage people to visit their indie bookstores," says Preus. "Zenith in Duluth or the Bookstore at Fitger's in Duluth, and many other great independent bookstores all over Minnesota."
Minnesota Reads is produced at The North 103.3 with funding provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
