I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer

Description

Matthew Henson was not meant to lead an ordinary life; his dreams had sails. Those dreams took him from the port of Baltimore and onto the sea, seeking adventures around the world. He may have started out as a cabin boy, but he did not set sail with Robert Peary just to launder shirts and cook meals--he meant to prove himself as an explorer. And after decades of danger and defying odds, Henson was part of a crew--one white man, one black man, and four Inuit men-- who finally did what no one had ever done before: they made it to the North Pole. Told in poetic first-person narration, this is the thrilling and inspiring story of a hidden figure from American history.

Carole Boston Weatherford is the author of many children's books, including Newbery Honor winner Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom; Caldecott Honor winner Moses; Coretta Scott King Honor winner Becoming Billie Holiday; NAACP Image Award winner Gordon Parks; Carter G. Woodson Award winner The Sound That Jazz Makes; Caldecott Honor and Robert F. Sibert Honor winner Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer. She is also the recipient of the North Carolina Award for Literature. Carole lives in North Carolina and teaches at Fayetteville State University. www.CBWeatherford.com. Eric Velasquez won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award for The Piano Man. He is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts and lives in Hartsdale, New York. www.ericvelasquez.com

Lovely and inspiring * Kirkus Reviews * A great combination of adventure in the wild landscape and personal struggle * Booklist, starred review *