Big Annie: Mississippi Flatboat Captain

Big Annie 

Big Annie is in MobiStories format

Big Annie is a flatboat captain on the Mississippi River who uses her amazing strength, to pull a boatload of toys through a terrible storm one Christmas Eve long ago.

Big Annie was written by Sandra Robbins and illustrated by Oku Oseki.

The Mobistories version of Big Annie not only reads the story while your child watches the pages turn but also captures the sound of New Orleans jazz and the rhythm and power of the American work song.

You and your children will soon be helping Big Annie along by singing: "Heave Ho! Pull the boat Big Annie."

MobiStories - Big Annie

MobiStories downloadable digital books for kids.

An engaging tale about a boat captain and how she gets toys to the children in time for Christmas Day. Excellent jazzy music accompanies the narration.

A great addition to your holiday library.

Big Annie's Flatboat 

Pull the Boat Big Annie

Flatboats, keelboats, barges, and arks were the main types of river craft before the era of steam power. Flatboats were not meant to go upstream. The flatboat, however, shared freight duties with the keelboat, another wooden craft that was intended to go upstream.

When the wind was low, which was most of the time in the heavily forested Mississippi valley, the keelboat relied on the muscle power of its eight- to twenty-man crew to pole, row, or drag (using ropes flung over tree limbs) the boat upstream. At a maximum of six miles per hour, the return keelboat trip from New Orleans frequently took several months.

Flatboats were the most-common kind of river craft, and they carried much of the Mississippi River's downstream freight until at least 1850.

Build a Model Flatboat

Boatmen first traveled the Natchez Trace in 1785 after carrying their cargo on large flatboats down the Mississippi River to New Orleans to sell.

The flatboats could be as long as 60 feet and had space for an animal stable and storeroom in the rear and a cabin divided into rooms by canvas partitions in the middle.

Three men were needed to navigate a flatboat using long paddles attached to either side of the cabin roof and the rear of the boat.

Flatboats and Keelboats

by Gale Research

What are Flatboats? 

What kinds of Flatboats could be found on the Mississippi River?

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area - Online Learning: Surf the Mississippi (U.S. National Park Service)

Describe a flatboat. How was it propelled and steered? What were its uses?

Flatboats are strong, box-like boats with flat bottoms, perpendicular sides, and upturned ends.

They sometimes were covered throughout their entire length.

They were constructed to float with the current (they were water-powered) and were steered by large oars or sweeps placed at the ends.

Most flatboats never returned after descending the river; often, they were dismantled and used or sold for lumber at their downstream destination.

Vessel Types on Minnesota's Inland Waters

Flatboats



* Private flatboats: Used to transport people and their belongings, commodities, or produce to downstream markets, mills, or settlement opportunities.



* Excursion or Pleasure barges: Flatboat barges, some outfitted with canopies, deck furniture and other features needed for accommodating excursionists on day trips or for special events. Such vessels were pushed by steamboats. Showboats (floating theaters) and circus boats, of unknown hull design but pushed by steamers, appeared sporadically on the Mississippi River as far north as St. Paul between 1855 and 1915.



* Wanigan: A sort of houseboat typically used during log drives as a cook shanty, bunkhouse, supply boat, or as a place for rivermen to dry their clothes. Scow or hull construction varied with the demands of local waterways. Many had hulls of hewn lumber. Those used in perilous waters might be reinforced with hewn "knees" or frames. Some wanigans were returned upstream by horses pulling along the riverbanks, while others were dismantled and the parts hauled upstream by sled or rail for re-assembly. Still others became floating bunkhouses near mills, were sold for use further downstream, or were placed on shore and used for sheds or cabins.

* Clamming boats: Narrow, open flatboats outfitted with racks from which to hang the clam bars or pipes used to catch clams. Some clamming boats moved downstream with the aid of a crude submerged sail or "mule". Clamming boats were common on the Vermilion, Cannon, and Mississippi rivers in the late 1800s.

Clamming Boat

An illustration of a typical boat used for clamming. Clam fishers in small boats dragged sets of hooks along the river bottom to collect the clams. Clamming for button manufacturing was big business in the late 1800s along the Mississippi River.

Big Annie learns how Boats Float 

Make Big Annie's Boat Float

A ship with a large volume of trapped air has a lower density than that of the water it sits in - so it floats.

Set up the Sensory Table with water and have some aluminum foil nearby.

Children experiment with different shapes to see if they can make a boat that floats.

One normally very disruptive child found this activity so engrossing that he would work at it for long periods of time and was soon able to explain to others how and why different shapes worked.

Science With Me - Science Website for Kids

Science with me is a free educational website for kids to learn science. Join now for fun science experiments and kids science projects for curious elementary school kids.

Big Annie Pulled the Boat up to Natchez through a Big Storm 

Hurricane Katrina Photos

October 02, 2005 New Orleans photos showing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Imagine what it was like for Big Annie and the people living along the Mississippi when they had no warning of a terrible hurricane.

Worksongs for Children Inspired by Big Annie 

A work song is typically a rhythmic a cappella song sung by people working on a physical and often repetitive task. The work song is probably intended to reduce feelings of boredom. Rhythms of work songs also serve to synchronize physical movement in a gang. -Wikipedia

Talk with your children about the times they find a job difficult to do.

What kinds of physical and repetitive jobs do you do? Try singing Big Annie's worksong while doing one of these jobs.

How about singing Big Annie's Worksong just before writing your spelling words or practicing your handwriting.

This is The Way We Wash a Day

A wonderful collection of songs to sing while we go about our daily activities with young children. In olden times, singing was a part of daily life. No matter what activity or work was being done, it was always accompanied by singing. Work songs are among the oldest forms of folklore.

Woodworking With Children

This is the way we pound our nails, so early in the morning. This is the way we saw our wood, Saw our wood, saw our wood.

Worksongs

Worksongs for children and adults from sailors to slaves, railroad workers to farmers, this is the source for hundreds of worksongs.

Big Annie and Her Neighbors of the Antebellum South 

Family of free blacks in antebellum south.
Photograph from the Library of Congress.

African-American Heritage - Lower Mississippi Delta Region - National Park Service

Folktales: African-American folktales, rooted in pain, suffering, religion, and joy, resulted in oral and written stories that influenced daily lives, behavior, and knowledge. Folktales convey the history, cultural values, and morals of African-Americans in the Delta.

French Creoles in Louisiana: An American Tale

A Creole is a white person descended from the French or Spanish settlers of Louisiana and the Gulf States and preserving their characteristic speech and culture.

More Big Annie related Activities 

ARTSEDGE: Exploring American Tall Tales

Students study the elements of tall tales, write responses to these tales, and perform them as monologues. Grades 5-8

Mississippi Mosquitos: A Mississippi Tall Tale from American Folklore

Retellings of various types of American folklore and includes folktales, legends, ghost stories and myths from each of the fifty states. Check out characters such as Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed and Ethan Allen as we explore American folktales from every region.

What was happening in the World when Big Annie saved Christmas? 

Free blacks working on an antebellum plantation at the time that Big Annie saved Christmas.

Free blacks in the antebellum period were numerous in the South but were relegated to second class citizenship and were watched carefully. Big Annie was probably not a slave.

Antebellum History Timeline

1789-1860

The Transportation Revolution

The transportation revolution involved the creation of canals, turnpikes, and steam-powered travel on the riverways.

Big Annie worked on the Fastest Transportation System in America 

Quest for Speed: Transportation and Communication Timeline

The earliest transportation within the U.S. at speed was river boats, up and down the Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The first flat boat to traverse the Mississippi to New Orleans was 1782. Steamships began in 1790. Robert Fulton's steamship made the 150-mile voyage between New York and Albany in 32 hours, averaging a speed of 5 miles per hour, about 1807. By 1823 Ohio had 800 miles of canals. The steampship Titanic, in 1912 on the sea, could do 20 mph (23 knots).

Mississippi River Board Game 

Big Annie cruses the Mighty Mississippi

Cruising North America Board Game - Nautical Gifts

Cruising North America Board Game Nautical Gifts Choose your vessel and cruise the West Coast, Gulf Coast, East Coast, Mississippi River system and

Nautical Trivia

Are you a seasoned seaman looking for a fun way to pass the time with your friends, and prove who is the most knowledgeable of the bunch? Are you new to boating and want to learn about it in a fun and entertaining way? Look no further than Capt'n Pike's Cruising North America board game.

Mississippi River Unit Studies 

Little Toot on the Mississippi Free Unit Study

Little Toot finally finds the old steamboats just in time to urge them out of retirement to save the bayou animals from the flooding Mississippi.
Literature Based Unit Written by Esther Glenn



Make a river outside in the dirt and experiment with using levees and not using levees

Mississippi River

Fun, creative, ideas for researching, exploring and presenting information about the Mississippi River.

Lesson Plans for Teachers related to studying the Mississippi River covering all curriculum areas. Includes connections to standards and rubics.

Big Annie's Christmas Traditions 

A Perfect Anomaly - A Cajun Christmas Story

"We've all decided that we don't want a traditional Christmas this year so what do you think about having a Cajun Christmas instead?"

Animal Life along the Mississippi River 

Green Treefrog in Louisiana

Green Treefrogs are colorful little frogs that coexist well with humans. They are amphibians of the woodlands in riparian areas. Green Treefrogs are another of the beneficial predators that help organic gardeners by eating snails and other anthropods.

Food Chain and Food Webs of the Mississippi River

Create a food chain, web, and trophic pyramid using Mississippi River organisms.

Mississippi River Unit Studies 

Unit Studies related to Big Annie

The Mississippi River Unit Study

The Mississippi River Unit Study by Kim Kargbo. Perfect for accompanying some great literature, or as preparation for a trip to see 'ole Mississippi, The Mighty Mississippi unit study will review the historical significance and present contributions of America's largest

Two systems of Measurement: Metric and English (A Study of the Mississippi River)

The purposes of this unit are to help students develop an
understanding of the metric system and understand the relationship
between the English and Metric systems.

Tall Tales- Unit Study

According to legend, Paul Bunyan and Babe created and the Mississippi River.

Shadow Box Theatre Presents Big Annie 

Big Annie will be playing at the Shadow Box Theatre in NYC from Sunday, December 21 at 1:00 pp with Weekday Morning Performances, December 9-23.

American Tall Tale about a larger-than-life heroine who saves Christmas for the children.



See-More's Workshop's colorful picture books and Read Along/Move-Along audio are based on the musical puppet plays of New York City's award-winning Shadow Box Theatre.

They capture the excitement of live theatre and are perfect for storytelling time and for youngsters learning to read.

These wonderfully illustrated stories such as Big Annie are filled with dramatic impact, fun voices, and imaginative imagery, making reading aloud extra fun!

Excellent additions for your homeschool library, classroom, or listening corner.

Shadow Box Theatre & See-More's Workshop

American Tall Tale about a larger-than-life heroine who saves
Christmas for the children - plus a Holiday Sing-Along celebrating
Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and Three Kings Day
Sunday, December 21 at 1:00 pm
Weekday Morning Performances, December 9-23
Big Annie is showing at 45 Bleecker Street, Manhattan (corner of Bleecker & Lafayette)
Tickets: $10.00
Call to reserve: (212) 724-0677

Mississippi River Flatboat Travel in the News! 

Flatboat Traveling on the Mississippi River

A flatboat replica is traveling down the Mississippi River for Lincoln's Journey of Remembrance. Lincoln's 200th birthday will be observed on Feb. 12, 2009. The Journey of Remembrance is one of several activities drawing attention to that milestone. The journey is a re-enactment of a similar trip Lincoln took in 1828 while transporting a load of produce for a local merchant.

Big Annie is in the Four Wheeler's Online Unit Study Directory 

Thank you to the Four Wheelers for including the Big Annie in their Online Unit Study Directory.

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Internet Directory of Unit Studies

The Four Wheelers Internet Directory of Unit Studies contains a list, roughly arranged by subject, of links to unit studies that are published on the Internet.