Marven of the Great North Woods
Grade 1-3?Children often enjoy reading about a young person who can competently handle a great adventure without parental supervision, and this boy does just that. Marven, 10, is sent to a remote lumber camp to escape a 1918 influenza epidemic in his hometown of Duluth, MN. He takes the train by himself and skis the five miles from the station to the camp. He is assigned to keep the books for the lumber camp and quickly devises an effective system. Although he longs to be reunited with his close-knit family, he makes friends with the French-speaking lumberjacks and finds a way to adapt his Jewish dietary laws to the camp food. The story becomes even more enjoyable when readers learn that it is based on an actual event. A concluding note includes photographs of Marven and relates that the man, now in his 90s, still has a good head for math. Hawkes's acrylic paintings are especially effective in showing the small boy against the vast Minnesota landscape and in comparison to the brawny lumberjacks. A satisfying story of courage and adaptability that has great read-aloud potential.?Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MNCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.