"Call It Courage" - A Wonderful Book For Young Readers

Each week, I volunteer in a fourth grade classroom as a teacher's aid. Before school ended, the class read a book called "Call It Courage". I had never heard of the Newberry Medal Winner, but since I had a few days to myself, I decided to start reading and get a head start...

The book is about a 15 year old boy named Mafatu, which means "Stout Heart". However, since he was three, he feared the sea and the sea god Moana. Everyone on the island of Hikueru made fun of the boy and teased him, yet none knew of the trauma the sea had put him through. For when he was so young, the sea took the life of his mother and always called out to him "Someday, Mafatu, I will claim you!"

Finally, Mafatu could not stand the torment anymore and he left his home to find a land where he could overcome his fear of the sea on his own. Sailing only with his faithful dog, Uri, and an albatross named Kivi, Mafatu left the land. After days of sailing and suffering, he finally found a new island and his quest had begun.

Fearful of the "eaters of men", Mafatu kepes watch and makes weapons to protect himself. Mafatu find himself doing things that he would never dream of doing on his homeland. But since he is alone, he must find the courage to survive.

After defeating the elements and wild animals, Mafatu gains confidence in himself and can finally believe in his courage. He yearns for the day when he can return to his home and make his prople proud - especially his father whom is the chief of the tribe.

Even before I started reading this book, I thought it would be unfit for fourth-graders. As I started reading the book, I could hardly believe that a fourth grade teacher assigned this to her class! The children in the class range from 8-10 years, when this book is better suited for 10 and 11 year olds.

The book was not well-suited for the class because of the language. The author used rather large words for a child to understand, such as grotesque and dismal. Also included in the story are foreign words, or rather the language that Mafatu speaks. Sometimes the foreign word is explained, sometimes it is not. If it is explained, it is only done so once and you have to remember the meaning for the rest of the book. This was even hard for me to do, so I can hardly imagine how the kids were able to do it! Foreign words include Varua Ino (I have no idea what this means...), fei (wild bananas), puaa (wild pig) and many more.

Another reason why I figured this isn't suited for a fourth grade class is because from the time that Mafatu first sees the island, he believes it is an island of the "eaters of men", or in other words, a cannibalistic island. This is often spoke of and by the end of the book, the "eaters of men" are actually chasing Mafatu off of the island. This can be frightening for young readers. I can't remember when I first learned about cannibals, but I know I wasn't very young when I found out about them. I think this is inappropriate to speak of in a fourth grade class.

However, this fiction book is still a great one. The book is full of suspense, thrills, dangers, and achievement. As each dangerous task is completed, Mafatu becomes more and more confident in himself. This book teaches a valuable lesson; one of strength, willingness, and effort to achieve a goal. As I read the book, I became more and more proud of Mafatu for conquering his fears. This is valuable for children because it teaches them that if something scares you and you don't want to be scared anymore, you can conquer your fear if you only put your mind to it. My favorite phrase in the book is:

He had fought the sea for life and won. He had sustained himself by his own wits and skill. He had faced lonliness and danger and death, if not without flinching, at least with courage. He had been, sometimes, deeply afraid, but he had faced fear and faced it down. Surely that could be called courage.

The only problem is that I hope it won't urge children to leave home and run away to achieve their goals...although I don't think this will be an issue.

"Call It Courage" is 95 pages long and is divided into 5 different chapters. The book seems a little difficult for a young child to read, but a child is able to get through the book. There are illustrations every couple pages in the book and these are plain and simple and are colored with blue shadings. The illustrations do, however, add a nice touch to the book, even though they are so simple.

Armstrong Perry's book, "Call It Courage" is a terrific book for young readers to choose. Although I don't think it is fit for children as young as fourth graders, I do feel it is appropriate for children in fifth grade and up. Even I enjoyed the book!