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Title: Call it Courage
ISBN: 0553478877
Author:
Armstrong Sperry
Publicate Date: 1997-10-01
Publish: 1997-10-01
List Price: $18.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Audio Cassette
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $11.22
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $1.82
Amazon Merchant Price: $14.04
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| Customer Review: |
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1: A Decent Young Adult Book!
Armstrong Sperry's story of Mafatu, who is afraid of the ocean, does come alive with great and detailed descriptions about life in Polynesian islands which includes life, environment, and religion. The book is somewhat slow at times. The book is decent for young readers including struggling readers. Sperry's writing is clear and the story of Mafatu who tries to prove his courage despite his fear of the water. The book is satisfactory for me.
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2: A Fantastic Journey We All Must Face
I just stumbled upon this book and I was absolutely blown away as I had never heard of this book before. I even got my father to read it and he loved it. This is a book for all ages and something for everyone to love and appreciate.
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3: A boy's courageous adventure in Polynesia
Like the majority of other reviewers, I was struck by the excitement and adventure of this story. While the exotic setting surely plays its part in drawing the reader deeper into the tale, it is also the underdog nature of the story's main character, Mafatu (Stout Heart). The reader will surely identify with the inner nature of all humans to challenge the personal fears that we hold within us. Mafatu actualizes these challenges in his conflicts with the sea, personified in the Tahitian sea god, Moana. With his two animal companions, Uri, the dog, and Kivi, the albatross, Mafatu sets out to overcome his fears, to grow into a new and mature person. Young and older readers will learn much about Polynesian cultures and even learn some Tahitian language. There is also a spiritual part of this story which has often been overlooked by others. Mafatu constantly prays to and gives thanks for his survival, well being, and growth to Maui, the Polynesian god of the fishermen, who like the Greek Prometheus is responsible for giving fire to humankind. In the end, with the help of his animal friends, he is able to courageously and ingeniously overcome all of the internal and external challenges and thereby rightfully claim his meaningful name.
One caveat is that the "eaters-of-men," i.e., cannibals, are made out to be black, irrational and dangerous. While the story is simply a story that was first published in 1940, some youngsters may come away from the story with a distorted view of race.
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4: CALL IT COURAGE
This book, which was first copyrighted in 1940, is still a good coming-of-age adventure, except for ONE BIG PROBLEM: racist imagery. The people the young South Seas islander hero must outwit and outrun in order to return to his homeland are terrifying "blacks," "savages," "eaters-of-men." This stereotyped characterization might have been acceptable to some in 1940, but society has since come to realize the harm it can cause to Black children's self-image and other children's attitudes toward Black people. To ethically introduce this book to a child requires either blacking out offending words (!) or prefacing and interspersing the reading with lessons in sociology and history, and even then, there's no assurance that damage won't be done. Why take the chance when there are so many other good books out there?
Newberry-awarded books engender such trust. Isn't it time for the Newberry folks to reconsider their wisdom in granting this racist book a medal?
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5: One of the Most Exciting Books I've Ever Read
Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry is the story of a boy named Mafatu who was afraid of the sea. To prove his courage, he went on a journey to a foreign island (likely Tahiti), battling sharks and octopus to prove his worth. If you like suspense, this is the book for you. I only wish it could have been longer.
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