Battleship Marine
A firsthand account of the USS Wisconsin's deployment from Norfolk, Virginia during Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Books by Loop Region
Follow the Loop route and discover books that match where you are — or where you're headed next.
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Norfolk to New York
History
Chesapeake Bay Skipjacks
Documents the skipjack's storied role in the Chesapeake Bay oyster dredging industry — best read near Deltaville, Virginia.
An Island Out of Time
A Memoir of Smith Island in the Chesapeake
An intimate portrait of three years spent on Smith Island — a marshy archipelago in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay — and...
Jacob Have I Loved
A Newbery Medal coming-of-age novel set on a small Chesapeake Bay island in the early 1940s — strong independent reading...
Liberty Falling
Anna Pigeon Mysteries Book 7
Book 7 of the Anna Pigeon Mystery Series — a thriller set at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island....
My Side of the Mountain
A Newbery Honor adventure about a boy who runs away to live alone in the Catskill Mountains — perfect for...
The Oyster Wars of Chesapeake Bay
The life-and-death struggle to harvest Chesapeake Bay oysters in the decades after the Civil War — a compelling piece of...
Underground To Canada
A powerful story of a young enslaved girl's dangerous journey from Virginia to freedom in Canada via the Underground Railroad....
The Waterman's Widow
A True Story
A murder mystery set at Solomons Island, Maryland — woven through with Chesapeake Bay watermen's history.
What Is the Statue of Liberty?
An informative young readers' book about the history and facts behind the Statue of Liberty — perfect to read as...
What Was Ellis Island?
A kid-friendly introduction to Ellis Island and the immigrant experience — perfect for curious young Loopers approaching New York City....
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
A compelling Newbery Medal novel about colonial life — resilience, prejudice, and growth as protagonist Kit navigates a rigid society....
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The Erie Canal
Engineering marvel
The Amazing Impossible Erie Canal
PICTURE BOOK
The story of how De Witt Clinton's dream of connecting the Hudson River to the Great Lakes was finally realized...
Erie Trail West
A Dream Quest Adventure
In 1836, an eleven-year-old New York farm girl travels the Erie Canal westward — a vivid picture of early canal...
Science Comics: Bridges
Engineering Masterpieces
Follow four friends across every type of bridge — beam, arch, truss, and suspension — through history and cultures worldwide....
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Canada
Georgian Bay
Anne of Green Gables
A beloved classic celebrating resilience, friendship, and the beauty of Prince Edward Island — a delightful companion for your Canada...
Hatchet
A Newbery Honor survival story set in the Canadian wilderness — a perfect companion for the Georgian Bay and North...
Paddle to the Amazon
The Ultimate 12,000-Mile Canoe Adventure
Don Starkell and his son paddled a canoe from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the mouth of the Amazon River -- a...
Underground To Canada
A powerful story of a young enslaved girl's dangerous journey from Virginia to freedom in Canada via the Underground Railroad....
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The Great Lakes
These inland seas have epic stories. Here are some books to read while crossing them.
A Beginner's Guide to Ship Watching on the Great Lakes
What to Look for, Ship-watching Destinations, Ports, Whistles and More...
A practical, fascinating guide to identifying and understanding the ships you'll see on the Great Lakes — a favorite while...
A Death in Door County
Monster Hunter Mysteries Book 1
A mystery set in Door County, Wisconsin — a bookstore owner who hunts cryptids teams up with the police chief...
Graveyard of the Lakes
A thorough history of Great Lakes shipwrecks from the seventeenth century to the present, covering the storms, the vessels, the...
Lighthouse Adventures
Heroes, Haunts & Havoc on the Great Lakes
Completely factual short and long stories of shipwrecks, courage, and Great Lakes lore — something for everyone on the lakes....
Mark of the Bear Claw
An adventure story beginning at Fort Detroit and continuing to Fort Michilimackinac — best started as you pass between Lake...
Paddle to the Amazon
The Ultimate 12,000-Mile Canoe Adventure
Don Starkell and his son paddled a canoe from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the mouth of the Amazon River -- a...
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The River System
From Chicago down to Mobile or New Orleans — the rivers that shaped America.
Life on the Mississippi
Mark Twain's memoir of his years as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River — part autobiography, part travel book,...
Salvage the Bones
A National Book Award-winning novel set in the twelve days before Hurricane Katrina hits a poor Black family in rural...
Science Comics: Birds of Prey
Terrifying Talons
Get up close with the world's most skilled hunters — eagles, vultures, and more — in a fun graphic novel...
The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer
A classic coming-of-age tale set along the Mississippi River — the perfect read while cruising the river system.
Underground To Canada
A powerful story of a young enslaved girl's dangerous journey from Virginia to freedom in Canada via the Underground Railroad....
Where Is the Mississippi River?
Explores the Mississippi River's history, significance in American culture, and the diverse ecosystems along its 2,350-mile path.
Who Was Mark Twain?
An accessible biography of the man behind Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn — his time on the Mississippi, his humor,...
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The Gulf Coast
From Mobile Bay to Tarpon Springs — the southern stretch of the Loop where the water turns warm and the pace slows down.
Beachcomber's Guide to Gulf Coast Marine Life
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida
A practical field guide to the plants, fish, birds, and invertebrates of the Gulf Coast -- the kind of book...
Hoot
A Newbery Honor winner and #1 New York Times bestseller — new kid Roy moves to Florida and stumbles into...
A Land Remembered
A multigenerational saga of a Florida frontier family spanning from the Civil War era to the 1960s, following the MacIveys...
Salvage the Bones
A National Book Award-winning novel set in the twelve days before Hurricane Katrina hits a poor Black family in rural...
Science Comics: Whales
Diving into the Unknown
A graphic novel following Zip, an enthusiastic beaked whale, as he travels the global ocean hosting his own undersea podcast...
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FL Keys & The Bahamas
Island vibes and crystal water — books to read in paradise.
Bad Monkey
A wicked Florida Keys comedy-thriller from Carl Hiaasen — disgraced detective Andrew Yancy has a severed arm in his freezer...
Flashback
Anna Pigeon Mysteries Book 11
Book 11 of the Anna Pigeon Mystery Series — a thriller set at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas.
Full of Beans
A Newbery Honor novel set in 1933 Key West — follow Beans as he navigates family, neighborhood antics, and small-town...
Science Comics: Coral Reefs
Cities of the Ocean
A colorful, humor-filled nonfiction graphic novel about coral reefs — their biology, their extraordinary inhabitants, and why they matter —...
Science Comics: Sharks
Nature's Perfect Hunter
A nonfiction graphic novel covering 400 million years of shark evolution, biology, and behavior — from hammerheads and great whites...
Turtle in Paradise
A Newbery Honor novel set in 1935 Key West — smart, tough 11-year-old Turtle arrives in the Florida Keys to...
Wrecker
A #1 New York Times bestseller from Carl Hiaasen — 15-year-old Wrecker, a kid who grew up on Key West's...
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Florida's East Coast
Space launches
Hoot
A Newbery Honor winner and #1 New York Times bestseller — new kid Roy moves to Florida and stumbles into...
A Land Remembered
A multigenerational saga of a Florida frontier family spanning from the Civil War era to the 1960s, following the MacIveys...
The Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion
Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #18
Nancy Drew heads to Florida’s Space Coast in this thrilling mystery where wild animals, a moss-covered mansion, and sabotage intersect....
River of Lakes
A Journey on Florida's St. Johns River
A naturalist's journey down Florida's longest river — part adventure narrative, part love letter to a waterway most people have...
Science Comics: Whales
Diving into the Unknown
A graphic novel following Zip, an enthusiastic beaked whale, as he travels the global ocean hosting his own undersea podcast...
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Georgia & The Carolinas
Southern charm and history along the Atlantic ICW.
The Lords of Discipline
Pat Conroy's searing novel about a young cadet at a fictional South Carolina military college, set in 1960s Charleston, where...
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
A Savannah Story
A New York Times bestseller for a record 216 weeks — John Berendt's immersive portrait of Savannah, Georgia, woven around...
Outer Banks
Four women who met at a South Carolina college reunite on the North Carolina Outer Banks thirty years later, where...
Science Comics: Wild Weather
Storms, Meteorology, and Climate
A nonfiction graphic novel about weather, meteorology, and climate, told through grumpy TV meteorologist Stormin' Norman Weatherby as he attempts...
Willa of the Wood
A #1 New York Times bestselling middle grade adventure set in 1900 in the Great Smoky Mountains — a young...
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