Onward
Matthew Henson

This book was about a African American explorer trying to reach the North Pole. Matthew Henson Born on August 8,1866. When he was 13 he walked 40 miles to Baltimore marine to become a sailor. Robert Peary hired him and taught him how to read,write,and even tell where you are by the stars. He went around the world on the ship. In 1889 Henson moved to Philadelphia to be a messenger. In 1891 Peary asked Henson if he wanted to travel to greenland with him he could. Peary thought it would be a good start to look or start looking at the north pole. When the got there it was very hard to Navigate through all the icebergs. The expedition was known as the North Greenland Expedition. The sleds would be dragged by 8 dogs and the strongest dogs would be with the leader. One of the people John Verhoeff was gone for long so they sent a search party out and found footprints. Then they disappeared right by the crevasse and thought he fell in. Then they came back they probably tried 5 times in all which i think is crazy. The roosevelt was 1 of the ships. They used snowshoes because the snow was so deep down. Henson was receiving about 500 dollars a day. When they finally reached it henson was 43 years old.
I think this book was good. You would like it if you like history. Or if you liked learning. It's very informative about all the stuff that happened. I think you would like it if you like action,history,and a little science. ( )

After several failed attempts with his partner Robert Peary, African-American explorer Matthew Henson was one of the first men to set foot on the North Pole. Although Henson's warm relationship with the Inuit people (he learned their language and taught other men on the expeditions about their culture) and his skill with dog sledging were integral to their success, Henson was not recognized for his achievements until some time later. Henson was posthumously awarded the National Geographic Society's Hubbard Medal (their highest honor) nearly 100 years after Peary was given the same award for the same expedition.

This biography is detailed enough to be useful for school work and its awesome photographs and exciting story will appeal as recreational reading for young explorers. ( )