Isaacs,
Sally. Helen Thayer’s Arctic
Adventure. Capstone Publishers 2016
32p $20.99 ISBN 978-1-4914-8044-1 elem/ms
Nonfiction VG-BN
Sir Edmund Hillary spoke to New Zealander Helen Thayer’s
class about his journey up Mount Everest, and Helen was hooked. Thus began her adventurous path to ascend
Mount McKinley, Aconcagua, Mount Cook, and other mountains. As an avid sportswoman, she decided to live
her Polar Dream, which previously had been just a thought that evolved into a
goal, to walk around the magnetic North Pole.
Thankfully, a local bear hunter named Charlie convinced her of the
dangers of polar bears, offering her one of his guard dogs. As fate would have it, Charlie saved her life.
The winds, the snow, the frigid temperatures, injury and loneliness: any one of
these could demoralize Helen if she dropped her guard. Even a poor decision would bring her
demise. One morning, with the ice just outside
her tent cracked, she realized that a wrong decision about leaving at that
moment might cause her to fall into a crevice to her death. She waited. Waiting was the right
choice.
What Sally Isaacs has done, along with illustrator Iva
Sasheva, is to bring a little-known story to young readers. Isaacs uses a simple style that is exciting;
she has the ability to bring a sense of danger to the forefront. Sasheva illustrated the adventures; one of my
favorites is a picture of the polar bear standing just feet from Thayer, and in
a split second Helen must decide between making the kill and letting Charlie
intervene.
Readers of all ages will enjoy this dramatic telling.
Books with themes of empowerment are important, and this is one of the better
stories with this theme. The book ends
with a note written to readers by Thayer, a biographical page devoted to
Thayer, another devoted to Charlie, and a glossary. There are also three discussion questions
that are tied to the common-core curriculum.
Summary: New Zealand adventurer Helen Thayer decided to live her dream of walking around the magnetic North Pole. Equipped with a guard dog as protection against polar bears, Thayer realized that she had quite a journey ahead. This book is a study in fortitude and living one’s dream.
North Pole-Exploration-Biography, Helen Thayer --Martha
Squaresky
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