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----- All Islandport Titles -----   ----- Fiction ----- Billy Boy Contentment Cove Love on the Rocks Maine Speaks Mary Peters A Moose and a Lobster Walk Into a Bar Silas Crockett Stealing History Windswept Young   ----- Nonfiction ----- A Maine Summer Island: The Story of Bustins Black Fly Stew The Cows are Out! Country Stores of Vermont Down the Road a Piece Favorite Island Recipes A Fisherman's Guide to Maine Hauling By Hand Here for Generations A History of Little Cranberry Island, Maine In Maine Land of the Porcupine Lighthouses of Maine Live Free and Eat Pie Maine Lighthouses A Moose and a Lobster Walk Into a Bar My Life in the Maine Woods Nine Mile Bridge Not Too Awful Bad Our Daily Tread Saturday Beans and Sunday Suppers Shoutin' into the Fog Simple Gourmet Lamb The Place He Made The Story of Mount Desert Island Thirteen is a Lucky Number Those Damned Yankees Two Farms Vermont Curiosities The View from Mary's Farm Where Cool Waters Flow   ----- Children's Books ----- A is for Acadia At One in a Place Called Maine Blueberries for Sal Burt Dow, Deep-Water Man The Cat at Night Fishing for Numbers Hardscrabble Harvest L is for Lobster The Little Fisherman The Littlest Tugboat Miss Rumphius My Wonderful Christmas Tree The Scallop Christmas Time of Wonder Titus Tidewater When I'm With You   ----- CDs and DVDs ----- CD: Ain't He Some Funny CD: Bert and I ... And Other Stories CD: Bert and I ... On Stage CD: The Best of Bert and I DVD: Dahlov Ipcar: Maine Master DVD: A Downeast Smile-In DVD: Earliest Maine Films CD: Footprints in the Sand DVD: From Stump to Ship DVD: Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine DVD: Maine's Television Time Machine CD: Old Maine Guide DVD: Vermont Memories I DVD: Vermont Memories II DVD: Vermont Memories III DVD: Woodsmen and River Drivers

 

Our Books
		Down the Road a Piece A Storyteller's Guide to Maine by John McDonald $15.95 Softcover, Humor ISBN: 0-9763231-3-3   CD: Ain't He Some Funny! The Best of John McDonald and A Moose and a Lobster Walk Into a Bar: Tales from Maine

ABOUT THE BOOK
We thought about calling this "Get Lost with John McDonald." John wanted to call it just "Get Lost!" Regardless of the title, John is back, this time offering tips to tourists and trying to help them better "understand" the state of Maine-from its history to its weather to its unique vocabulary. Also great for natives looking to brush up on their home state or just looking to laugh. Hilarious.

In down the road a piece, McDonald – also a weekend talk show host in Portland, a newspaper columnist and founder of the Maine Storytellers Festival – provides a colorful version of Maine history, gives his take on Maine destinations that should not be missed, helps interpret Maine-speak, and offers tips on where to shop, what authentic Maine food to eat and much more.

"I traveled all over the state to put together this wicked funny comprehensive guide, and it's just loaded to the gunn'lls with everything you need to know about Maine and a few things you probably shouldn't," McDonald says. "I hope you'll get a mess of laughs out of it."

REVIEWS
"Some of the best stories are the ones we tell about ourselves, and nobody does it better than John McDonald."
– Kennebec Journal

"It's all in good fun, sure to bring self-effacing chuckles from Mainers and good, honest laughter from those who know the state and its people only from depictions or stereotypes."
– Bangor Daily News

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John McDonald has been telling stories around the state for years, and his weekly column is published in many Maine newspapers. John is also the founder of the Maine Storyteller Festival and his talk show can be heard each weekend on WGAN in Portland.



EXCERPT
“ Another frequently asked question is: "Why do you call this state Maine? Was it named after someone? Was there a Mr. Maine?"

You might hear some snappy answers, all correct, like: " 'Cause we want to," or "Well, New Jersey was already taken," or "We call it Maine because our parents called it Maine and their parents called it Maine and their parents called it Maine, so don't come around here and try and cause trouble." A Mainer might also give you a queer look and just say nothing (a common response, actually, to many questions from flatlanders).

The honest-to-gosh truth is: We have no idea, but not knowing something has never stopped a Mainer or an academic from plowing ahead.

One popular theory is that our state was named after the province of Mayne in France. That sounds reasonable, except that Fernando Gorges and John Mason - the two old English sea dogs who were granted the original charter to these lands in 1622 - weren't French, had no known connection to France, probably hated France and, therefore, had little reason to hang the name of a French province on this particular piece of real estate.

Yet, other historians (already tenured, I hope) discovered that Mason had once been stationed in the Orkney Islands, where the main island is also called Maine. Did Mason decide to name his new piece of land after an island in the Orkneys? (And, just what kind of name is Orkney, anyway?) Or was it because Gorges's family came from a village, which neighbored Broadmayne, which at various times was known as Maine, Meine, Chow Mein, Lo Chow Mein, and part of it as Parva Maen ("Little Maine").

Others claim that because there are so many islands off our coast that were being used for a variety of reasons, the name Maine is simply a nautical term that refers to the "mainland."

Could be. We just don't know, because no one said. That's right! The reason we don't know why our state is called Maine is because neither Mason nor Gorges ever wrote down and explained why they were giving this place that particular name. The Mainiacs. ”