If you read any book about sand dunes this year, let it be SANDY: The Story of a Young Dune. I wrote it and I illustrated it. My son formatted it and Amazon (via Kindle Direct Publishing) published it.
Where can you find it? Why, Amazon, of course. Also (so far), the Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center gift shop and Schoolhouse Shop in Chesterton, Ind.
I am traveling through Northwest Indiana (the area where the sand dunes lie along the south shore of Lake Michigan) to sell my fun book. I will also go to other areas of the state where there will be interest in the stories told in SANDY. My book covers the science and history of the sand dunes and several of the fascinating personalities involved in establishing both a state and national park in order to preserve the iconic sand dunes of this region.
For instance, visitors to Minnetrista, the former home of the Ball canning jar company, in Muncie, would be interested to know how the company’s most famous product got its color. The “Ball Blue” jars, made by the millions in the early 1900s, owed their color to the mineral content of one particular sand dune. Known as Hoosier Slide, the sand dune was a popular sliding spot in Michigan City, Ind. But by 1920 all of Hoosier Slide was “mined,” its sand taken by railway car for industrial and business use.
There is much to like and learn in Sandy: The Story of a Young Dune. Please enjoy!
