Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | SCD J FICTION GEO 4 DISCS | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | SCD J FICTION GEO 4 DISCS | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Wildwood Library (Mahtomedi) | SCD J FICTION GEO 4 DISCS | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
From the most celebrated children's nature writer of our time comes a posthumous new novel in the tradition of her Newbery award-winning "Julie of the Wolves" In 1848 in Barrow, Alaska, a young Eskimo boy witnesses a rare sight--the birth of a bowhead, or ice whale, that he calls Siku. But when he unwittingly guides Yankee whalers to a pod of bowhead whales, all the whales are killed. For this act, the boy receives a curse of banishment. Through the generations, this curse is handed down. Siku, the ice whale, returns year after year, in reality and dreams, to haunt each descendant. The curse is finally broken when a daughter recognizes and saves the whale, and he in turn saves her. Told in alternating voices, both human and whale, Jean Craighead George's last novel is an ambitious and touching take on the interconnectedness of humans, animals, and the earth they depend on.
Author Notes
Jean Craighead George was born on July 2, 1919 in Washington, D.C. She received degrees in English and science from Pennsylvania State University. She began her career as a reporter for the International News Service. In the 1940s she was a member of the White House press corps for The Washington Post.
During her lifetime, she wrote over 100 novels including My Side of the Mountain, which was a 1960 Newbery Honor Book, On the Far Side of the Mountain, Julie of the Wolves, which won the Newbery Medal, Julie, and Julie's Wolf Pack. She also wrote two guides to cooking with wild foods and an autobiography entitled Journey Inward. In 1991, she became the first winner of the School Library Media Section of the New York Library Association's Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature. She died on May 15, 2012 at the age of 92.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Starred Review. Gr 4-6-This magnificent story begins with Toozak, a Yup'ik Eskimo boy in Alaska, staring at a whaling ship with a red, white, and blue flag. When Toozak unknowingly leads the Yankee ships to the whales' feeding grounds, the animals are slaughtered. For this, the village shaman declares Toozak's family cursed until one of them can save the life of Siku, a young ice whale or the whale saves them. The late George is wondrous when writing about the natural world, and narrator Christina Moore captures the emotional story in a strong, lyrical and imaginative way-told in two voices, whale and human. Moore's distinctive narrative style helps capture the primal link humans share with nature. Expressive, thrilling, and, at times, sad, this is an exhilarating audiobook highlighting the interconnectedness of the Alaskan Native culture and the inhabitants of the Beaufort Sea. Real recordings of bowhead whales are used to render the whale speech, and it is delightful to hear actual whale clicks, whistles, and calls throughout the book.-Jennifer Mann, Cromaine District Library, Hartland, MI (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
George returns to the northern Alaska setting of her Newbery-winning Julie of the Wolves in this expansive story, which the author's children, Twig George and Craig George, completed after her 2012 death. Spanning two centuries-from 1848 to 2048-the novel interlaces the stories and perspectives of a family of Yankee whaling captains; generations of an Yup'ik clan cursed after one of them inadvertently discloses the location of a pod of whales to greedy whalers; and Siku, a bowhead whale that shares a deep bond with the tribe. While the first narrative track sheds intriguing (and sobering) light on whaling strategies and history, the latter two are emotionally involving and expose the interconnectedness of humans and whales with eloquence and insight. In one of many hard-hitting moments, Siku's "grief was heard through the ocean" after he sees his mother killed by a harpoon. Jean Craighead George's knowledge of and talent for depicting the natural world are in full evidence in this immersive epic that combines themes of conservation and native mysticism. A powerful finale for the author and a fine tribute to her literary legacy. Ages 9-11. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
In 1858, Yup'ik Eskimo Toozak unwittingly tells American whalers where they can spear bowhead whales, bringing down a curse on his family and forcing Toozak and his progeny to protect one whale throughout its approximately two-hundred-year lifespan. George blends the whale's sea life with Toozak's descendants' lives on land. Coincidences mar the account, but the resurrection of the whale population is nicely told. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
George's final novel, completed posthumously by two of her children, begins in 1848 when Toozak, an Eskimo boy, witnesses the birth of Siku, a bowhead whale. It's an auspicious sight, but when Toozak accidentally leads Yankee whalers to an Eskimo whale-hunting ground, he must make up for his mistake by protecting Siku for the rest of the whale's life which can last 200 years. For two centuries, generations of Toozaks wait for the yearly return of the bowheads, diligently warn Siku away from danger, and witness the gradual modernization of their region and the slow decline of traditional practices. In chapters alternating between the Toozaks' and Siku's perspectives, George packs in detail about Eskimo traditions from whale hunting to spirituality and bowhead behaviors, including communication, some of which is rendered in squiggles representing whale songs. As usual, her research is clearly extensive, and it's helped along by Hendrix's informative opening illustrations. Though some human characters are occasionally wooden, this quiet story offers a compelling glimpse into the history of a way of life.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2010 Booklist
