When I was in elementary school, a librarian did a book talk on Call it Courage, and after all these years I finally picked it up and read it.

It is a compelling read about a boy afraid of the sea, and his efforts to conquer the fear and make his village -- and his father -- proud. So he sets off on a perilous adventure to prove himself, along with his dog and, occasionally, an albatross.

Call it Courage is a Newberry award winner, and it is easy to see why it was chosen. The writing is concise, and immediately captured my attention. I had to finish it in one sitting to find out what happened to Mafatu (the protagonist) and his companions.

Survival stories have often been popular choices for boys and girls alike, and reading Call it Courage has reminded me of other survival stories I have read throughout the years: Island of the Blue Dolphins, Hatchet, and My Side of the Mountain immediately come to mind. These stories demonstrate courage and resourcefulness, and it is fun to read them from the safety of one's home, with ample food, water, and safety! ( )

Mafatu is a young boy whose mother died at sea when he was a toddler while saving him during a hurricane. Mafatu is deeply afraid of the ocean as he grows older the fear does not subside. Even though his father is the Chief and Mafatu’s name means brave heart other tribesmen heckle him for being afraid and without courage. Mafatu decides he is going to concur his fears and make his father proud of him. He leaves his island of Hikueru and gets caught in a hurricane. He eventually makes it to an unoccupied island. Mafatu gets to work making a shelter, canoe, and knives. He catches fish, kills a shark, wild pig, and an octopus while at the island. He discovers that there is an idol on the island that the man-eaters come and worship every so often. On his last night on the island he is awakened by a drumming. He realizes it is the men-eaters and they try to capture him. He narrowly escapes back out to see and heads home to the island of Hikueru in hopes of making his father and tribesmen proud of him. He wants them all to know that he is no longer without courage.

This story is all about conflict and perseverance. Many times throughout life we encounter struggles against nature, others, and ourselves. I love the way this book is encouraging you to keep on trying and like Mafatu you can over come.

I would have my students discuss different ways Mafatu helped himself to survive. I would ask a person in the community to come into the classroom and show the students different ways they could help themselves in nature.

I would have my students divide a poster board in to halves. On one half I would have my students draw pictures of items they may come across in nature that could be harmful to them. On the other half I would ask them to draw pictures of items they could use to help them to survive in nature. ( )

Summary: Mafatu is a young boy who is deeply afraid of the ocean and all the kids tease him about this. One day, Mafatu decides he will face his biggest fear and along with his dog paddles out to sea. Along the way, Mafatu kills a shark, escapes from people who are trying to kill him, and by the end of the book he is no longer afraid of the sea.

Critical Response: Throughout the story Mafatu deals with conflict in himself. He wants to go out to the ocean but fear holds him back. However, the conflict is beautifully resolved at the end of the story when he learns that if he has courage he can do anything he wants.

Classroom Connections: This is a great book to use for multiculturalism and after reading it the entire class would discuss what they learned about Polynesians. Further, this book gives many ideas about how to survive all alone. I would bring in an adult who would show students how to do some of the things Mafatu did in the story. Along with this, I would show a video, which would show students how to survive on your own. ( )

It is about a indian boy who lives with a tribe on a island. He runs away his home town. He survives with his and then they finally go home. The boy is afraid of Moana, The sea god. This is a good Book! ( )

Powerful, amazing diction ( )