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A review by karen1usher
Race to the Frozen North: The Matthew Henson Story by Katie Hickey, Catherine Johnson
4.0
This is a gripping tale of the life and adventures of the American explorer, Matthew Henson, of whom I'd never heard of before. The introduction explains my ignorance: "Why was he forgotten and ignored for so many years? The reason was the colour of his skin ..."
Matthew Henson claimed to be the first American to reach the North Pole and his achievement was particularly remarkable because this took place in 1909 and he was a black orphan who had run away to sea at the age of 12. His extraordinary experiences and widely recognised skills as an explorer made for a riveting read as I was engrossed by his adventures both as a personal struggle combatting racism and as a window into the details of an expedition to the North Pole at the turn of the 20th century.
As a Barrington Stoke "super readable" publication, the book is both visually accessible and told in a style to engage reluctant readers. Nevertheless Catherine Johnson packs a real punch in describing the beauty and danger of the landscape, the culture and friendship of the Inuit people and the hardship experienced by a Black American at this time. It has encouraged me to find out more, starting with Matthew Henson's own autobiography.
The book explores difficult subjects almost dispassionately so for me, the emotional climax of the book is the moment of joy when he realises they have reached their goal: "My legs were so cold and worn out that I couldn't dance for joy but I was grinning and laughing and hugging Ootah."
Matthew Henson claimed to be the first American to reach the North Pole and his achievement was particularly remarkable because this took place in 1909 and he was a black orphan who had run away to sea at the age of 12. His extraordinary experiences and widely recognised skills as an explorer made for a riveting read as I was engrossed by his adventures both as a personal struggle combatting racism and as a window into the details of an expedition to the North Pole at the turn of the 20th century.
As a Barrington Stoke "super readable" publication, the book is both visually accessible and told in a style to engage reluctant readers. Nevertheless Catherine Johnson packs a real punch in describing the beauty and danger of the landscape, the culture and friendship of the Inuit people and the hardship experienced by a Black American at this time. It has encouraged me to find out more, starting with Matthew Henson's own autobiography.
The book explores difficult subjects almost dispassionately so for me, the emotional climax of the book is the moment of joy when he realises they have reached their goal: "My legs were so cold and worn out that I couldn't dance for joy but I was grinning and laughing and hugging Ootah."