Children's Nonfiction Exploration & Discovery
Hudson
- Publisher
- Tundra
- Initial publish date
- Sep 2010
- Category
- Exploration & Discovery, General, Historical
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9780887768149
- Publish Date
- Sep 2010
- List Price
- $24.99
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 8 to 12
- Grade: 3 to 7
Description
History has not been kind to Henry Hudson. He's been dismissed as a short-tempered man who played favorites with his crew and had an unstoppable ambition and tenacity. Although he gave his name to a mighty river, an important strait, and a huge bay, today he is remembered more for the mutiny that took his life. The grandson of a trader, Hudson sailed under both British and Dutch flags, looking for a northern route to China. Although none of his voyages led to the discovery of a northwest passage, he did explore what is now Hudson's Bay and what is now New York City.
Whatever his personal shortcomings, to sail through dangerous, ice-filled waters with only a small crew in a rickety old boat, he must have been someone of rare courage and vision. In Hudson, Janice Weaver has created a compelling portrait of a man who should be remembered not for his tragic end, but for the way he advanced our understanding of the world.
About the authors
JANICE WEAVER is the award-winning author of Building America, From Head to Toe, and The A to Z of Everyday Things. She lives in Toronto.
Dr. David Craig is an international expert in undercover operations and lie-detection techniques. He has conducted extensive international research in undercover programs in the United States (FBI, DEA, U.S. Customs), Canada (RCMP), the United Kingdom (Scotland Yard, National and Scottish Crime Squad), and the Netherlands (politie). He lives in Brisbane, Australia, with his wife and four children.
Editorial Reviews
Praise For Mirror With A Memory:
". . . A great visual retrospective of a nation's people and events."
- School Library Journal
Praise For Building America:
"This is more than a marvelous illustrated history of architecture in America; it provides an easy-to-take social context for the buildings it showcases."
- Philadelphia Inquirer
Praise For From Head To Toe:
"[an] always engaging and often enthralling account of the place of clothes and assorted adornments through the ages. . . .Weaver is that exemplary explicator for whom one thing always leads to another. . . ."
- The Globe and Mail
Librarian Reviews
Hudson
If one of the great beauties of history is the sheer power of the true story, then Hudson, by Toronto writer Janice Weaver, is a winner.Weaver’s tale is built around English explorer Henry Hudson and his four major sea voyages from 1607 to 1611. The drama of a search for a northern passage to China is self-evident in each of his adventures. Battling high seas, winds and ice, Hudson and his crew face difficult choices, careening between life and death. On each of Hudson’s voyages, he battles more than Mother Nature, however. His crew appears constantly ready to mutiny as a result of conflicting personalities, poor conditions and dwindling supplies.
We accompany Hudson as he explores America’s east coast, giving his name to a great river in 1609 and, later, his fateful voyage to Canada’s north to discover a northwest passage to China. This trip ends in infamy when Hudson’s crew mutiny and cast him adrift on a small boat in what is now Hudson Bay. He was never seen again.
A few things give this book a standard of excellence. The prose is clear and accessible to readers from Grades 2 and up. Weaver’s story moves forward in a compelling fashion. Inset boxes provide further details on selected topics.
The illustrations by David Craig are colourful and evocative of the time. They are complemented by colour reprints of documents such as maps and original paintings from the era.
The end of the book includes a survey of “Historic Sites & Monuments” explaining the areas explored by Hudson, as well as a page devoted to further reading about Hudson, although those sources are really only suitable for much older students.
Source: The Canadian Children's Bookcentre. Winter 2011. Volume 34 No. 1.
