Author: Carol Boston Weatherford Illustrator: Eric Velasquez Bloomsbury Childrens Books January 2008
“I did not chart this course to drift in humdrum jobs ashore. My dreams had sails”
Synopsis (From Publisher):
Matthew Henson was not meant to lead an ordinary life. His dreams had sails.
They took him from the port of Baltimore, around the world, and north to the pole.
No amount of fear, cold, hunger, or injustice could keep him from tasting adventure and exploring the world.
He learned to survive in the Arctic wilderness, and he stood by Admiral Peary for years on end, all for the sake of his goal.
And finally, after decades of facing danger and defying the odds, he reached the North Pole and made history.
At last, Henson had proved himself as an explorer-and as a man.
CWR Review:
This is the story of Matthew Henson, the man who accompanied Admiral Robert Peary to be the first men to stand on the North Pole. The book starts with his journey to Baltimore from Washington D.C at thirteen years old when he lost both of his sharecropper parents. It goes on to show his first voyage and the mistreatment he faced before becoming a store clerk which eventually led to his chance meeting of Robert Peary. Chronicling their adventures north, Weatherford captures the relationship Henson developed with he Eskimo’s, the many languages he learned, and the numerous risks he and Peary took at many failed attempts to reach the North Pole. The book ends with their success! Author includes a brief history in the back of the book.
The vocabulary is rich and meant for older readers, but young listeners can easily follow along. Dignity oh sweet dignity! Matthew Henson had every reason to pity himself considering his circumstances but he didnt, he was a man abounding in dignity. His character is strong and kind, with him being shown saving Robert Peary’s life twice. On a personal note, my favorite part of this story is seeing him get out his accordion and sing hymns after the Eskimo’s perform their traditional music. I think of that moment, what it must have felt like out in that icy cold weather, among a foreign culture and language, to take out an accordion and sing a song to the Lord. “Kokoyah: devil of the north” was said to guard the ice cap by the Eskimo’s, though Henson acknowledges this as being a false reality, “Kokoyah” nonetheless becomes a revisited theme throughout the rest of the story, being placed perfectly after hardship prevented further advancement. The prose is of excellent quality, each page the text begins in the negative- “I did not”/”Peary did not”/ “We did not”- with only the last page, the page that tells of their success, beginning differently.
Eric Velasquez’s illustrations are detailed and real. A man of profound talent and artistic ability, Velasquez captures Henson’s life tastefully. My favorite is right in the middle where Henson meets hatred face-to-face in the south and his soon-to-be wife, Lucy, in New York. Henson’s discouragement contrasted with his joy on the next page are both heartwarming and deeply felt.
powerful, expressive, motivating, get yours here or here.
Themes- North Pole exploration, Artic and Polar Explorers and their history, diligence, determination
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