Call It Courage [Hardcover]

Armstrong Sperry (Author)

Book Description

Maftu was afraid of the sea. It had taken his mother when he was a baby, and it seemed to him that the sea gods sought vengeance at having been cheated of Mafatu. So, though he was the son of the Great Chief of Hikueru, a race of Polynesians who worshipped courage, and he was named Stout Heart, he feared and avoided tha sea, till everyone branded him a coward. When he could no longer bear their taunts and jibes, he determined to conquer that fear or be conquered-- so he went off in his canoe, alone except for his little dog and pet albatross. A storm gave him his first challenge. Then days on a desert island found him resourceful beyond his own expectation. This is the story of how his courage grew and how he finally returned home. This is a legend. It happened many years ago, but even today the people of Hikueru sing this story and tell it over their evening fires.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The New York Times "Whether this author is telling of clipper ships, of the days of the covered wagon, of the South Sea Islands, he writes always with imagination and integrity. Like all hero legends Mafatu's story has a strength and simplicity that appeals to a wide range in age and it is beautifully told. Mr. Sperry's fine drawings have the same spirit of adventure as the story and enhance the feeling of tropical seas and jungle given in the text. The story reads aloud well and will be useful to storytellers."

New York Herald Tribune "A boy's character at ten years old is more often influenced by emotion than by reasoning. Something in the conduct of a hero leaps like a spark to light his own spirit. A book with a hero can sometimes bring this about. This is such a book.... It is related with unusual skill, carrying along a reader so rapidly he scarecely realizes how well it is being told... The story is wild enough to be remembered, and it cannot be remembered without doing good."

From the Publisher

Maftu was afraid of the sea. It had taken his mother when he was a baby, and it seemed to him that the sea gods sought vengeance at having been cheated of Mafatu. So, though he was the son of the Great Chief of Hikueru, a race of Polynesians who worshipped courage, and he was named Stout Heart, he feared and avoided tha sea, till everyone branded him a coward. When he could no longer bear their taunts and jibes, he determined to conquer that fear or be conquered-- so he went off in his canoe, alone except for his little dog and pet albatross. A storm gave him his first challenge. Then days on a desert island found him resourceful beyond his own expectation. This is the story of how his courage grew and how he finally returned home. This is a legend. It happened many years ago, but even today the people of Hikueru sing this story and tell it over their evening fires.END

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (May 1, 1968)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0027860302
• ISBN-13: 978-0027860306
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,080,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finding courage within oneself., June 2, 1999

By 

R. D. Allison ([e-mail]) (Gainesville, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Call It Courage (Paperback)

This short book by Sperry (1897-1976) won the 1941 Newbery Medal for best contribution to American children's literature. Mafatu, a Polynesian boy of 15 years old, has an intense fear of the ocean. At the age of three he was nearly killed when his mother drowned. Now he must conquer his fears. He goes off on his own and finds the courage within him. The story (probably for ages 9 to 13) starts off on the island of Hikueru in the Tuamotu Archipelago east of Tahiti at a time before European ships and missionaries had arrived. Apparently, Sperry, who had traveled throughout the South Pacific, based his story on an old and true Polynesian tale.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Call it Quality Reading, August 22, 2000

By 

George R Dekle "Bob Dekle" (Lake City, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Call It Courage (Mass Market Paperback)

Robert Heinlein once wrote that "Courage is not the absence of fear--it is the conquest of fear. The man who is truly fearless is not courageous. He is also a fool." Young Mafatu, a Polynesian islander, fears the ocean. This is something akin to a cowboy fearing cattle. His fear causes him a great deal of discomfiture and makes him an object of scorn and ridicule.

Sperry tells the story of how Mafatu (which means "Stout Heart") faced and conquered his fear. I read the story some 40 years ago as a young child. Although I wasn't really searching for anything other than the subject matter for a book report, I came away from "Call it Courage" with something far more important than a long-forgotten grade.

Simply, elegantly, Sperry explores the nature of courage and helps the young reader to come to a better understanding of that most misunderstood quality.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adventure!, November 10, 2004

By 

J. Brian Watkins (Laie, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Call It Courage (Paperback)

The story of Mafatu's adventure on the isle of the eaters of men is unforgettable. Some 30 years ago I first encountered this book in my elementary school library and it remains vivid in my memory. It is the story of a young boy, Mafatu, who lives on an island yet fears the sea that killed his mother years ago. Mafatu decides to face his greatest and deepest fear--the sea--and sets off on an adventure, ending up not only conquering his fear of the sea but successfully confronting such life-threatening challenges as a hammerhead shark, a sharp-tusked wild boar and, finally, angry man-eating islanders. It is the kind of story where just when you think things can't get worse, they do. But Mafatu finds out that he is able to overcome every challenge and returns to his home island in triumph.

Mafatu's story should be required reading for children preparing to face a world every bit as dangerous as the open ocean and filled with hazards no less serious than sharks and cannibals.