Marven of the Great North Woods

by Kathryn Lasky, Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator)

Overview

When the influenza epidemic strikes Duluth, Minnesota, in 1918, Marven's parents send their son far away from the danger of the disease. But a logging camp in the great north woods?
A true story of a small Jewish boy and a bearish French-Canadian lumberjack . . . and how they became friends under the most unusual circumstances.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152168261
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/01/2002
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	759,478
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.13(d)
Lexile:	AD810L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Kathryn Lasky's many books for young people have received such honors as the Parents' Choice Award, the National Jewish Book Award, and a Newbery Honor citation. Her picture books include Sugaring Time, The Emperor's Old Clothes, A Brilliant Streak: The Making of Mark Twain, and Marven of the Great North Woods. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband, photographer and filmmaker Christopher Knight.

Editorial Reviews

"A satisfying story of courage and adaptability."—School Library Journal
"Hawkes's illustrations are as moving and effective as the story. . . . This book is a happy adventure that brims with rugged excitement."—Kirkus Reviews
"A spirited and affecting tale."—San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
—

From the Publisher

During a 1918 winter flu epidemic, a 10-year-old is dispatched from home to a logging camp where he will be safe. "Thanks to Lasky's considerable command of language and narrative detail, readers will linger over descriptions of Marven's solo journey," wrote PW, calling the illustrations "warm and glowing." Ages 6-9. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

With a daughter's fitting reverence, Lasky tells the story of her father, Marven, who was sent away from his family at the age of ten to work in a logging camp.

Duluth, Minnesota, is plagued with influenza in the winter of 1918, so Marven's parents send off their only son to the great north woods for the winter. As the train pulls away, Marven is in the middle of nowhere; he must ski five miles to meet his new employer. The young boy is given the job of bookkeeping and the daunting task of waking the lumberjacks who linger in bed in the morning. Marven grows close to Jean-Louis, the giant sleepyhead of the bunch. Hawkes's illustrations are as moving and effective as the story, especially when Marven appears in the snowy loneliness of the north country. Hawkes characterizes the burly lumberjacks with humor and style, cleverly contrasting them with Marven's childlike innocence. Unlike Gary Paulsen's bittersweet northland novella, The Cookcamp (1991), over which hangs a vague sense of unease, this book is a happy adventure that brims with rugged excitement.

Kirkus Reviews