Minnesota author and illustrator John Owens will visit Drury Lane Books in Grand Marais on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. for a special meet-and-greet and book signing. Owens is the creator of One Spring Up North, the latest installment in his acclaimed wordless picture book series chronicling a family’s adventures through the seasons in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Rendered in soft lines and detailed colored-pencil illustrations, One Spring Up North moves with confident grace through the natural splendor of a northern Minnesota spring. Readers are invited to follow a canoeing and camping family as they witness the seasonal thaw, encounter wildlife, and experience small but powerful moments—like a child’s pride in paddling from the front of the canoe for the first time, or the quiet sadness of finding a broken bird’s egg.
This is the third book in Owens’s seasonal series, which began with One Summer Up North (2020, created digitally) and continued with One Winter Up North (2022, rendered in watercolor). Each book showcases a distinct artistic medium, highlighting Owens’s thoughtful and evolving visual storytelling. The series will conclude with a fall-themed volume illustrated in gouache.
Owens’s visit to Drury Lane Books offers readers a chance to connect with the artist behind this celebrated series and gain insight into his creative process. The event is free and open to the public.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
John Owens is a freelance illustrator and author of One Summer Up North and One Winter Up North, both published by the University of Minnesota Press and inspired by his travels to explore the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in all its seasons.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
As spring stirs the world of the Boundary Waters and wildlife awakens, let’s venture out, too. Moving with confident grace, this charming wordless picture book with its detailed, colored-pencil illustrations invites you to join this canoeing and camping family on their journey through the natural splendors of the Boundary Waters as they experience the cycle of life in the wild.
PRAISE FOR ONE SPRING UP NORTH
“A beautiful and welcome celebration of spring in the Boundary Waters that brings the changes of the season to life in delicately rendered illustrations. No words are necessary for readers to delight in the drama John Owens captures of ice-out, wind, waves, and the arrival of life returning to the North. This story makes me want to pack up my gear and head North!” —Lauren Stringer, illustrator and author of Winter Is the Warmest Season
“John Owens’s wordless picture books remind us that sometimes, the most profound stories don’t need words. They’re found in the rustle of leaves, the ripple of water, and the silence of a snowy forest. Through his art, Owens invites us all to slow down, observe, and rediscover the beauty of the world around us.” —Grand Rapids Herald-Review
For more information, visit the book’s webpage: www.upress.umn.edu/9781517919252/one-spring-up-north/
