From Goodreads: A boy tries to overcome his fear of the sea in this treasured classic and winner of the Newbery Medal.
Maftu was afraid of the sea. It had taken his mother when he was a baby, and it seemed to him that the sea gods sought vengeance at having been cheated of Mafatu. So, though he was the son of the Great Chief of Hikueru, a race of Polynesians who worshipped courage, and he was named Stout Heart, he feared and avoided tha sea, till everyone branded him a coward. When he could no longer bear their taunts and jibes, he determined to conquer that fear or be conquered-- so he went off in his canoe, alone except for his little dog and pet albatross. A storm gave him his first challenge. Then days on a desert island found him resourceful beyond his own expectation. This is the story of how his courage grew and how he finally returned home. This is a legend. It happened many years ago, but even today the people of Hikueru sing this story and tell it over their evening fires.
My Thoughts:
- I am doing really well with my Newbery goal this month! I'm proud of me!
- This book definitely shows its age, but it wasn't as bad as previous Newbery books. The writing was more enjoyable. Most of the story was kinda slow though.
- I liked Maftu's journey in finding his courage. It didn't come all at once. He had to face a few things before we tackled his biggest fear.
- I loved that Maftu wasn't completely alone. He had his dog.
- I'm hoping the 40s had better books than the 30s
My mom always tried to make me read this one when I was a kid, but it was about a boy, and I went through a phase where I only wanted to read books about girls. ;D
ReplyDeleteMy son read this one this year and wanted me to read it as well. It was a bit rough but a good one overall.
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