• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

A tiny speck imprisoned in a world of white… This is an exciting adventure novel told through the eyes of eleven-year-old ships boy Jeremy. It is both history and fiction. The merchant ship Henrietta Maria has been trapped in the ice of Hudson Strait for two months. It is August 6, 1631, when she finally breaks free to search for a northwest passage. The crew knows that it must leave Hudson Bay by early October to avoid being caught in the ice for the winter. The ship is leaking badly and the crew is ravaged by scurvy. Finally, Captain James announces that they cannot make it back to Hudson Strait before freeze-up. With half the crew suffering from scurvy and even lacking boots, will anyone survive in this cold and desolate place?

Bob Barton was born in Ontario. After years of teaching elementary school, he eventually began teaching in secondary. He later became an Education Officer and an Arts Coordinator with the Ontario Ministry of Education. He has been a teaching master at teachers’ college, a visiting author in the schools, a performer and a storyteller. Over the years he has published many children’s books, including The Bear Says North (2003) and Poetry Goes to School (2004). Barton has worked professionally as a storyteller for over thirty years, sharing his stories across Canada, the United States, and England. He is the recipient of many literacy and arts awards. Today he still sits on several boards which help promote literacy, but he doesn’t neglect his hobbies of cooking, reading, and gardening. Barton has two grown children and lives with his wife in Toronto.

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"This is a good historical fiction novel for junior readers."

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Trouble on the Voyage

Trouble on the Voyage is a remarkable new novel by master storyteller Bob Barton. It takes readers on a perilous journey through the Arctic region, while capturing a significant episode in Canadian history. The voyage of the merchant ship Henrietta Maria, under the command of Captain Thomas James, is a true slice of Canadiana. In 1631, the expedition sailed to Hudson and James Bay in search of a Northwest Passage to China. Barton has expertly drawn on information found in the diary of Captain Thomas James and, in doing so, he pieces together the dangers, the locations, the characters and the language of this search for the northwest passage. What a story of courage and determination! What a history lesson! What a geography lesson! As young readers — boys especially — voyage through the novel, they are certain to keep asking themselves, “How did they do that?” How did the crew survive an epidemic of scurvy when there was little vegetation to feed them? How did the men disembark from the trapped ship, bootless, only to be faced with the dauntless task of finding shelter on the icy Arctic shores? How did they cope with each other’s tempers, the despair of not knowing if their mission would be successful, or the physical and emotional suffering of the troubles on the voyage?

Barton cleverly crafts the story through 12-year-old Jeremy’s eyes as the young sailor records in his diary the crew’s travails, his own painful experiences and his longing for home. The diary format gives readers an identifiable, empathetic point of view; the reader becomes Jeremy. No entry goes beyond four pages and this is therefore likely to appeal to many readers who enjoy fast-paced episodic adventures. Throughout his career, the author has told thousands of stories over and over and we are lucky to have his storytelling skills in print in this important historical novel for youngsters.

Trouble on the Voyage

By way of diary entries, 12-year-old Jeremy tells us the tale of how the Henrietta Maria is trapped for two months in the Hudson Strait, and finally breaks free on August 6, 1631. The ship must leave Hudson Bay by October to avoid more ice, but with half the crew suffering from scurvy will anyone survive? A glossary of terms is included.