From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Napoli, perhaps best known for her retold fairy tales and legends, spins a compelling, modern adventure. Sixth-grader Alvin, nicknamed "Dwarf" by classmates, is dying under his fearful Mamma's overprotectiveness. When his teacher gives an assignment to select a famous African American to study, Alvin is intrigued by Matthew Henson. Starved for adventure, the boy decides to run away to the North Pole-in January. Using the money he has saved for a bicycle, he leaves his Washington, DC, neighborhood on a train bound for New York, then heads to Toronto, then on to Winnepeg. Several adults, and lots of luck, help him along the way. In Winnepeg, he jumps into a freight car bound for Churchill, nearly freezing to death during the more than 33-hour trip. Here he connects with Inuit people (he's the first African American they've ever seen), who help him get to Bylot Island near the Arctic Circle, where he spends a season with a trapper, learning to survive sunless days, eating lemming and walrus stew, and rapidly growing in stature and self-confidence. The final page finds the boy, in June, arriving home. Napoli includes lots of interesting information about Henson and Inuit culture, and important messages about the value of cultural diversity. Alvin's luck may strain credibility at times, but readers will be cheering him on. He will inspire them to believe that even the most daunting obstacles can be overcome.
Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, MECopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Gr. 4-7. Twelve-year-old Alvin, an African American whose hero is Arctic explorer Matthew Henson, finds his freedom curtailed by his overprotective mother. When she enlists a neighbor to escort him to and from school, he runs away from his D.C. home and heads for the Canadian Arctic--in January. As he makes his way northward by passenger train, boxcar, small plane, dogsled, and finally on foot, many people help him, including Idlouk, an Inuit hermit who takes Alvin into his home. After facing trials that challenge his courage and thinking ability, Alvin leaves for home in the spring with a new sense of freedom and confidence. Some readers will be surprised by the many adult characters who speed the unprepared boy toward his goal and by the fact that the story stops before he reaches home. Idyllic, yes. But the story's authentic feel, strong narrative thrust, and vivid descriptions of Arctic life take readers on a journey they won't soon forget.
Carolyn PhelanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
