Trapped in the Arctic

Joan Weller is head librarian at the West Branch of Ottawa Public
Library, and the children’s literature reviewer for the Ottawa
Citizen.

Pierre Berton continues to bring his popular history-telling skills to
children’s books in these recent titles in his Adventures in Canadian
History series. Enlivened by black-and-white drawings, portraits, and
maps, they engage intermediate-grade children in the exciting events
surrounding two famous Arctic explorers.

Trapped in the Arctic recounts Robert John McClure’s courageous 1850
search for the Northwest Passage, while Dr. Kane of the Arctic Seas
details Dr. Elisha Kent Kane’s heroic 1853 search for the lost
explorer John Franklin and the North Pole. Both books hook young readers
from their opening chapters, which provide background information,
setting, character studies, and mood for the events that follow. Once
hooked, there is no turning back as Berton’s storyboards start
rolling. Readers “join Robert McClure as he strides the foredeck of
the Investigator,” and they follow Kane aboard the Advance as
“winter was closing in and the crew, exhausted from forcing the ship
through the ice, was uneasy and homesick.” What follows are memorable,
suspenseful accounts of man fighting harsh, cruel nature, and of man
fighting man in the form of crew uprisings. Berton fleshes out stories
of the men’s past, their hopes, their struggles, and the aftermath of
their discoveries. Crisp dialogue, strong portrayals of character, and
well-drawn settings (including an insightful examination of Inuit life)
round out the clear, simple story line. History comes alive in these
books, which can be read as true adventure stories or used as reference
tools. Highly recommended.