Sport ― Ship Dog of the Great Lakes

In 1914 crew members of the lighthouse tender Hyacinth rescued a stray puppy from the Milwaukee River and named him Sport. For the next twelve years, this charming Newfoundland-retriever mix lived the life of a ship dog, helping the Hyacinth crew as they carried supplies to lighthouses and maintained the buoys and other safety features around Lake Michigan. Sport quickly became a valued companion to his crew and a recognizable mascot of the lake—making friends in every port. 

In this beautifully illustrated children’s book based on historical documents and photographs, readers share in Sport’s adventures while discovering the various ways lighthouse tender ships helped keep the lake safe for others. Helpful diagrams, a map, and a historical note supplement this engaging story for young readers.

Pamela Cameron has been an elementary and middle school librarian and a public librarian in Wisconsin and Michigan. She is a member of the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History, the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, and the Great Lakes Historical Society.

Renee Graef is an award-winning illustrator of more than eighty books for children, including the Kirsten series for American Girl, B is for Badger, and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.