Marven of the Great North Woods (Hardcover)

by Kathryn Lasky (Author), Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator) "After his great-aunt Sadie died of the influenza, Marven's mother and father decided to send him away from the city to keep him safe..." (more)
Key Phrases: logging camp, Jean Louis

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3?Children often enjoy reading about a young person who can competently handle a great adventure without parental supervision, and this boy does just that. Marven, 10, is sent to a remote lumber camp to escape a 1918 influenza epidemic in his hometown of Duluth, MN. He takes the train by himself and skis the five miles from the station to the camp. He is assigned to keep the books for the lumber camp and quickly devises an effective system. Although he longs to be reunited with his close-knit family, he makes friends with the French-speaking lumberjacks and finds a way to adapt his Jewish dietary laws to the camp food. The story becomes even more enjoyable when readers learn that it is based on an actual event. A concluding note includes photographs of Marven and relates that the man, now in his 90s, still has a good head for math. Hawkes's acrylic paintings are especially effective in showing the small boy against the vast Minnesota landscape and in comparison to the brawny lumberjacks. A satisfying story of courage and adaptability that has great read-aloud potential.?Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
With a daughter's fitting reverence, Lasky tells the story of her father, Marven, who was sent away from his family at the age of ten to work in a logging camp. Duluth, Minnesota, is plagued with influenza in the winter of 1918, so Marven's parents send off their only son to the great north woods for the winter. As the train pulls away, Marven is in the middle of nowhere; he must ski five miles to meet his new employer. The young boy is given the job of bookkeeping and the daunting task of waking the lumberjacks who linger in bed in the morning. Marven grows close to Jean-Louis, the giant sleepyhead of the bunch. Hawkes's illustrations are as moving and effective as the story, especially when Marven appears in the snowy loneliness of the north country. Hawkes characterizes the burly lumberjacks with humor and style, cleverly contrasting them with Marven's childlike innocence. Unlike Gary Paulsen's bittersweet northland novella, The Cookcamp (1991), over which hangs a vague sense of unease, this book is a happy adventure that brims with rugged excitement. (Picture book. 6-10) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152001042
• ISBN-13: 978-0152001049
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #134,642 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scared, Homesick, Adventure, Friendship, Reunited, May 30, 2004

A Kid's Review

This book is a true story about how two unlikely people become friends. Marven a ten year old boy from Duluth, Minnesota in 1918, is sent to live at a logging camp far awar from home in the Great North Woods to escape the influenza that is sweeping the country. Marven is scared to go becasue he does not know what to expect, and is also afraid that the influenza might take the life of some of his family members. At the logging camp Marven meets a French speaking lumberjack named Jean Louis. The two have nothing in common, but become freinds anyway. When Marven comes back home he is relieved to find out that the influenza is over, and that all of his family memebers are alive.

I liked this book because it was adventurous and exciting that a ten year old boy could travel alone far away from his parents to some place he had never been before. I thought the illustrations did a great job of showing the beauty and vastness of the wilderness as well as the difference in size between Marven, his lumberjack friends, and the Great North Woods.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a unique and wonderful story, July 1, 1999

By A Customer

This is a charming, interesting book. Kids will be intrigued by Marven's adventure - not only by the notion of being sent away from his family, but also the dramatic reasons for it and the incredibly different and appealing life he gets to lead with the lumberjacks. Adults will like all that, too, and will also be won over by the warmth and, ultimately, gentless of this very unusual story. A lovely, rare find.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A warm book about a remarkable man, October 11, 1998

By A Customer

Marven Lasky was my mother's husband. He passed away last week at the age of 91. I only read this book in detail to find out more about him. For more about his family, see "The Night Journey", also by this author.