Race to the Frozen North: The Matthew Henson Story: 1

Product Information

Catherine Johnson is a screen-writer and best-selling author of several books for children and young adults. Her acclaimed novel Sawbones won the Young Quills Award for Historical Fiction, and her most recent book The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo, was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and the YA Book Prize. Catherine has been a Writer in Residence at Holloway Prison, a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at the London institute and has mentored writers in Africa for the British Council. I loved writing this, it’s a real adventure story, with sword fights and derring do. It also features a walk on part from one of my favourite people from history, Colonel Thomas Alexandre Dumas – inspiration for all of the Three Musketeers as well as The Count of Monte Cristo.

KS1 Matthew Henson Reading Comprehension Activity - Twinkl

Catherine Johnson, of Jamaican-Welsh heritage, grew up in north London. She has written over 20 novels for young readers. Her most recent historical novels were nominated for the Carnegie Medal. Sawbones won the Young Quills Award for best historical fiction for 12+, and The Curious Tale of The Lady Caraboo was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and the YA Book Prize.

By Author / Illustrator

This boy lived for a long time and a very joyful one it was. He may have travelled around the world and spoke different languages. Matthew could drive a team of dogs across the ice or hunt wolves and seals and could make anything out of wood or metal. Once he arrived, he did not receive a hero’s welcome as nobody believed the deeds he had done. But why? Well, because of his skin colour since he was a person of colour and no one liked people of colour. Well, heroes come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and colours but I have no clue why he did not receive any praise when he arrived. When he was 61, he got a better job by the government, and Matthew was a clerk and at least he got to sit down. She has also written for TV including Rough Crossings for BBC2 with Simon Schama and popular continuing drama Holby City on BBC1. Her film work includes the award-winning Bullet Boy(2004), and her radio play, Fresh Berries, was shortlisted for the Prix Italia. Use this interesting Matthew Henson Reading Comprehension Activity to help your child to develop their comprehension skills at home. The KS1 resource is split into three different levels to suit most children aged 5-7. Encourage your child to carefully read the fact file before answering a variety of questions. It is a great way to help you to know if your child is understanding what they are reading, while learning about an this important historical figure.

Race to the Frozen North: The Matthew Henson Story - Goodreads

The book was very compelling and gripping which encouraged me to read further to find out what was next. It recounts Matthew Henson’s life story and how he went from working for his violent stepmother to making his own life in Washington D.C by himself. Sawbones’s narration was as clean cut and objective as the scalpel and the mind of he that wields them.’ Big Book Little Book www.bigbooklittlebook.com/2014/01/sawbones/ Matthew is a true and honest character who is an absolute delight to read from start to finish. It is based loosely on the historical tale of the real Matthew Henson - the first man to reach the North Pole - but whose story was kept suppressed because of the colour of his skin. This story opens a positive dialogue with young people about racism, prejudice and discrimination. There are plenty of opportunities to discuss how Matthew is treated by others around him and also the context of the time period. Personally, I was found myself really routing for Matthew throughout the story; I wanted him to be succeed. The narrative is delightfully engaging and educational; a historical tale I wasn't familiar with, so found fascinating to read. I found Captain Childs a very interesting character because, as well as being a determined sailor, he accepted Matthew Henson – the main character – for who he was and what colour skin he had, because most white people wouldn’t have during this time. An uncompromising and compelling novel concerned with some of the life and death issues which face twenty-first century teenage girls. Powerful writing which should provoke much teenage discussion.’

Based on the story of real-life 19th-century explorer Matthew Henson, Catherine Johnson’s light touch makes this remarkable story an exciting read and sheds important light on the way prejudice has white-washed the way we learn about the past. A super-readable book and printed in a dyslexia-friendly format. Sara and Mina have been best friends for years. So when Sara gets hold of some Tarot cards and suggests they start telling fake fortunes Mina plays along, helping Sara make sure her predictions are right. But soon Sara’s predictions become all too accurate, and she’s dragged in to a dark world of magic and power that she can’t understand. Can Mina save her? and some handy recs and my top list of Historical PoC here at the Bibliomanic here and here at The Reading Fangirl A dyslexia-friendly book detailing the journey Matthew Henson took to becoming the first person to reach the North Pole. This is biographical fiction, telling Matthew's story in a way that I think will allow a lot of people to relate to the strength and determination of Matthew, as well as sympathise with the oppression he faced due to the colour of his skin. Matthew was never given the true appreciation that he deserved and so he didn’t receive a hero’s medal and ceremony, unlike his other members of the crew who received a hero’s medal and a hero’s position/ceremony. Soon after, Matt died as a poor and starving man. But soon after his death, people realised that Matt was telling the truth and so he was buried in a hero’s grave, finally getting the credit that he deserved.