Amazing Arctic Explorer Matthew Henson

Children's Literature - Janis Flint-Ferguson

Matthew Henson, an orphan, went to sea when he was twelve years old and that was the start of an adventure that would lead him to becoming the first African American to reach the North Pole. Henson was introduced to explorer Robert Perry who was looking for men to support his expedition. The Inuits in the Arctic region believed him to be one of their own culture and Henson learned their culture and their languages on his many journeys in the Arctic. It took the Perry Expedition over six tries before finally reaching the North Pole on April 6, 1909. This book uses an easy reading level to tell the story of Henson's life and includes pictures commemorating his life and experience. It also includes several writing prompts, a timeline, a vocabulary list, a resources list and an index for teachers who may be using it for classroom lessons and research. This biography is, itself, a good resource for elementary libraries. Reviewer: Janis Flint-Ferguson

School Library Journal

Gr 1–2—Is it possible to condense the life of any person into approximately 40 sentences? That is what Wade attempts to do in these early-reader biographies. The language is simple, both in sentence structure and vocabulary. With this kind of brevity, oversimplification is inescapable. For example, in Rachel Carson, Wade states that Carson wrote about the environment and that, "No one had ever written about this before." Of course, people like John Muir were writing about it years before Carson. Despite this problem, Wade does a decent job of introducing the salient points of these subjects' lives. Each book has elements of a standard report biography: thought questions, a time line, glossary, further reading, and an index. Though some of these features seem ludicrous for such short books, they allow young students to become familiar with common study aides. Photographs and historical paintings are set against starburst- patterned backgrounds. The bright backgrounds are a little distracting but add color and continuity. Comparable in content and more colorful than "Rookie Biographies" (Children's Press), these are fair nonfiction choices to have in a primary-grade reading corner or to use with slightly older ESL students.—Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT