Upper Peninsula author Sharon M. Kennedy has written a new book, “The SideRoad Kids.” The book is about sixth-graders’ experiences in Chippewa County. (Photo courtesy of the Modern History Press)

MARQUETTE — Want to follow a group of kids as they enter sixth grade in a small Upper Peninsula town in 1957-58? With “The SideRoad Kids,” the new book of short fiction from the Ann Arbor-based Modern History Press, columnist and author Sharon M. Kennedy takes readers on that trip.

“The SideRoad Kids” is a collection of 33 stories, each narrated in first-person by sixth-graders.

According to the Modern History Press, the regional connection to Chippewa County comes naturally to Kennedy whose childhood memories are anchored there.

“Chippewa County is pretty much as I remember it as a child with the exception that it no longer has lots of small shops and clothing stores along the main street, Ashmun,” Kennedy was quoted as saying.

Kennedy said the timeframe has nothing of historical interest or importance in the stories, but noted the book will appeal to Baby Boomers and older readers who will remember country life in the 1950s.

“Older readers often tell me they send my columns to their children and grandchildren to remind them that life was not always easy and technology was an old manual typewriter, a telephone with a crank and a car devoid of air conditioning,” she said.

Kennedy said “The SideRoad Kids” will appeal to the Amish as well as to parents who homeschool their children.

“We have a large Amish population in the Sault Ste. Marie area,” she said. “Many read my newspaper column and have told me they enjoy it because the stories I tell of the ‘old’ days ring true for them today.”

More about “The SideRoad Kids” and Kennedy, who lives in Brimley, can be found at www.AuthorSharonKennedy.com.

“This meandering collection of loosely-connected short stories is often humorous, poignant and sometimes mysterious,” the website reads. “Laugh as the kids argue over Halloween treats handed out in Brimley. Recall Dorothy’s Hamburgers in Sault Ste. Marie. Follow a Sugar Island snowshoe trail as the kids look for Christmas trees. Wonder what strange blue smoke at Dollar Settlement signifies. Discover the magic hidden in April snowflakes.

“Although told by the kids, adults will remember their own childhood as they read about Flint, Candy, Squeaky, Katie and their friends.”

The website also includes a few testimonials about the book, including one from Allia Zobel Nolan, author of “Cat Confessions.”

“Katie, Blew, Squeaky and Daisy grew up on farms instead of high rises and used their imagination instead of fancy gadgets to make their own fun,” Zobel Nolan said. “An entertaining read for youngsters. And parents, you might enjoy a nostalgic flashback as well. I know I did.”

Kennedy writes a weekly newspaper column for the Sault News and the Cheboygan Daily Tribune, and authored the former Mining Journal column, “Musings of a Matriarch.” She wrote “Life in a Tin Can,” a random collection of previously published columns. Her work also appears regularly in the U.P. Reader.

Over the past five years, the Modern History Press has featured leading U.P. writers, including historian and photographer Mikel B. Classen whose “Points North: Discover Hidden Campgrounds, Natural Wonders, and Waterways of the Upper Peninsula” won an award from the Historical Society of Michigan.

The annual U.P. Reader anthology serves as a venue for showcasing the talent of regional writers, including young writers in U.P. schools from grades 5 through 12.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.