We're all afraid of some things. Overcoming fear takes courage, and sometimes reading about others who have faced seemingly impossible odds but had the courage to go on can inspire us. That inspiration can also fuel greater measures of individual courage.
Such is the case with today's reviewed books. Read them with your children. The outcome may be more important than you think.
Books to Borrow
The following book is available at many public libraries.
"The Endurance: Shackleton's Perilous Expedition in Antarctica" by Meredith Hooper, illustrated by M. P. Robertson, Abbeville Kids, 28 pages
Read aloud: age 6 and older.
Read yourself: age 7-8 and older.
In August, 1914, Ernest Shackleton and his crew sailed their ship, Endurance, from England to Antarctica. By January 18, 1915, the Endurance was frozen solid in the pack ice and drifting with it, powerless to go where they wanted.
The ice eventually crushed the ship to splinters, forcing the men to camp on drifting ice floes for months. Finally able to launch the lifeboats, they faced a much more dangerous enemy - the ocean.
Miraculously all three boats landed on the uninhabited Elephant Island. Shackleton knew their only hope of survival was to try and reach South Georgia - another island that lay 800 miles away across the world's stormiest, wildest ocean. Determined to save his men, Shackleton and two crew members set out in a 23-foot, open, wooden lifeboat, leaving the others behind to wait and to hope for their rescue.
Against all possible odds and looking death square in the eye every day, Ernest Shackleton saved every one of Endurance's men on Aug. 30, 1916. His courage and the courage of his crew is one of the greatest survival stories of all time.
Librarian's Choice
Library: Carson City Library, 900 North Roop St., Carson City
Library Director: Sara Jones
Youth Services Librarian: Susie King
Choices this week: "Bowl Moon" by Jane Yolen; "Eleven Turtle Tales" compiled by Pleasant Despain; "Frindle" by Andrew Clements
Books to Buy
The following books are available at favorite bookstores.
"Night Boat to Freedom" by Margot Theis Raven, illustrated by E.B. Lewis, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2006, 40 pages, $16.00 hardcover
Read aloud: age 5 and older.
Read yourself: age 7-8 and older.
Slaves in Kentucky, Granny Judith asks 12-year-old Christmas John to take Cook's daughter, Molly, across the river to the Free State of Ohio. He must make the trip at the darkest hours of night to avoid being caught. Christmas John knows the danger, and is terribly frightened, but sets out to do what he knows is right.
The successful completion of that first trip led to many, many more, until at last, Christmas John and Granny set out to make their own way to freedom, with the slave catchers and bloodhounds trailing close behind.
Inspired by true oral history accounts, this rich story and deeply moving illustrations are masterfully combined to create an extraordinary book of courage and love.
"Letters from a Slave Boy: The Story of Joseph Jacobs" by Mary E. Lyons, Atheneum, 2007, 197 pages, $15.99 hardcover
Read aloud: age 12 and older.
Read yourself: age 12 and older.
Born into slavery, Joseph Jacobs lives with his grandmother and sister in North Carolina. Joseph hasn't seen his mother in seven years, and then, moments before she boards a ship bound for the north, discovers she has been hiding in the attic all that time to escape the horrors of her master and still be close to her children.
Soon thereafter, Joseph escapes to the north in hopes of being reunited with his mother. But the slave master continues to pursue them, and while his mother moves from one place to another, Joseph finds work in a variety of places, including a whaling ship. Throughout it all, Joseph wonders if there is any place where he will truly be free.
Based on the real life stories of Harriet and Joseph Jacobs and written as a series of letters as imagined by the author, this thought-provoking novel challenges readers to explore and understand Joseph's perspective as he struggles to free his family and himself, and ultimately decide his own identity.
• Nationally syndicated, Kendal Rautzhan writes and lectures on children's literature. She can be reached via e-mail: kendal@sunlink.net.