Call It Courage

I really enjoyed All Sails Set by Sperry and this book was recommended by Carole Joy Seid - so when I found this book, I knew we would read it. I shared this tale, a Polynesian folktale retold by Sperry, with my boys ages 11 and 14. Neither would have chosen the book because of the cover, but once inside the story they enjoyed it.

Mafatu lives with his tribe on a small island, an atoll. His father is the Chief and Mafatu strives to live up to his name which means Stout Heart. This is almost impossible after the death of his mother while the two were caught in a typhoon, and he is terrified of the ocean. His memory from his childhood haunts him, and he is taunted by the other children in his tribe. Worst of all is the disapproval and disapointment of his father, the Chief.

Mafatu in a moment of impulsiveness, sets himself on a journey with little preparation and no particular destination. He is fortunate to reach a distant island, and has opportunity to learn that he has many skills and develops these as he builds a canoe, sails and learns to survive on his own.

I will stop there and allow you to take this journey with Mafatu. Read the book - even if only to yourself. Read it to any child or adult you know - give them the gift of this great story. Perhaps they, or you, will be able to call it Courage.

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.

Mafatu, whose name means Stout Heart, is a 12- year-old Polynesian boy living on the rocky atoll of Hikueru. As a child he watched his mother drown; ever since he has been a prisoner of the understandable terrors of his maritime environment. Worse still, his fear of fishing has embarrassed his father, the chief, for all the village knows that his son is a cowawrd. Desptie his nimble fingers and quick mind, he seems fit only for woman's work, yet his heart burns with shame at the vicious taunting of the other boys and his father's humiliation. He longs to redeem himself in the eyes of his people and earn the his father's pride.
This book has been a classic tale of survival for over 50 years, yet I had not heard of it until I found a Pb version. It read swiftly, albeit with little dialgoue. I wish the author had gone into more depth about how Mafatu fashioned the tools he neded to survive on the small island. It was interesting to learn about the man-eaters and their most sacred taboo: scacrifices to a monstrous stone idol on the Forbidden Island. The island that saved his life after a gruelling ocean voyage could prove his deathtrap.
This slim volunme is appealing because it presents a young boy with a clearly-defined dream: to return in triumph as a brave warrior to his people. He has to clarify his goal and work out the details of each step in the process, but the arrival of the cannibals is ill-timed. He must face and conquer his fears of the ocean; he reveals the spirituality of this Pre-Columbian people by praying often to Maui. When threatened by elements of the sea, he hurls challenges to Moana, whom he feel has been stalking him since he almost drowned at the age of three. I admrie his courage to defend his faithful canine companion and the many times he must overcome real terror at his own physical peril, to achieve a greater goal. His will to live and ingenuity are a great inspiration; this story shows that even pre teens are capable of great achievement.

A South Pacific hurricane nearly killed Mafatu, a Polynesian Island boy, when he was three. Currents from the impending storm had carried the canoe that his mother navigated out to sea, where the hurricane-sized waves capsized it. Clinging to the outrigger pole, Mafatu's mother managed to fight off sharks and dehydration long enough to reach a coral reef after several days adrift: "At hand lay a cracked coconut; the woman managed to press the cool, sustaining meat to her child's lips before she died" [p10]. Ever since, Mafatu was afraid of the sea.

This book was originally written in 1940 and is illustrated by the author. It's five chapters are subtitled "Flight", "The Sea", "The Island", "Drums", and "Homeward". It is a Rite of Passage story where Mafatu is teased and taunted by his mates because of his fear of the sea. Eventually Mafatu can no longer tolerate the jeers nor the silent contempt that his dad holds for him, and he sets off in a canoe with his two pals - a dog and albatross, to run away from the island of taunts.

Out in the Pacific Ocean, a storm and its currents grab the boy's craft taking it on an unknown course while its waves rob the craft of its stores and supplies. Mafatu and his dog, Uri, are battered at storm's end and the albratross, Kivi, must step up and guide the gang to land - The Island. Exploring the island, he discovers it is used by the "eaters-of-men" to make sacrifices to a statue - he had landed on Forbidden Island!

The remainder of the book is about how Mafatu comes of age while learning to survive and be resourceful. When he and his dog eventually return to their home island with the eaters-of-men in hot pursuit most of the way, they return (thanks to Kivi's navigational assistance) to a see a cold father no longer cold and jeering villagers no longer jeering. Mafatu, the Stout Heart, has proved he has earned his name.

I am giving 5 stars for Lou Diamond Phillips' narration of the audiobook version. I'd probably give the book itself 4 stars - well written but unlikely at times, although it is presented as more of a legend, so that makes sense. Anyways, the narration is top notch and worth looking specifically for the Lou Diamond Phillips version.

ROBERT
This book is about a boy named Mafatu, who is afraid of water. He is afraid of water because when he was young there was a tsunami that killed his mom. One day he was just strolling on the beach when he overheard his friends making fun of him because he fears water so much. He decides he must leave the island with his dog and travel through the sea on a canoe to overcome his fear. He goes threw a tough storm that almost made his dog go overboard. He eventually made it to an island and set up camp. Once they got to shore he was determined to stay there until he made a necklace of bores teeth. The teeth were from those he killed for food, he felt that would prove that he was a man. He wanted to make his father proud.
Mafatu finished the necklace and headed home. As he sailed out to sea he saw a rare octopus in the water. He was taught to believe if you kill this type of octopus it makes you a brave warrior. He wanted kill it but it was to deep in the water. That same day he noticed two boats chasing after him, they belong to an enemy tribe called "death eaters". He paddled as fast as he could to get away from them, eventually he out ran them. Mafatu returns to his island and and finds his father. Once he sees his dad, his dad says " Here is my son come home from the sea. Mafatu, Stout heart. A brave name for a brave boy." He made his father very proud..
I thought this book was very good, I would highly recommended it to any one who likes suspenseful books. Every time you end a page you just want to keep reading. Especially if you are into old native culture. You can learn a lot about tribes beliefs if you read this book. For example you can learn that if you kill a certain kind of octopus you are believed to be a great warrior.

I thought that Call It Courage was a pretty interesting book. It did not follow the usual plot for a story. The main part of the book was almost as exciting as the two climaxes. This book has two climaxes, one at the beginning, and one at the end. In between the two you had the meat of the book. There was no rising action to it there were small challenges throughout that time period. The two periods at the very beginning and at the very end could be considered the rising and falling action. This interesting storyline kept me engaged throughout the whole book. This is not the genre of book that I typically like. I like dystopian and fantasy/ science fiction not realistic/ historical fiction but I still thought this book was interesting. I would recommend this book to people who like historical fiction and adventure. I thought it was a great book

Mafatu, the ten-year-old son of a Polynesian chieftan, has always feared the sea because in his toddlerhood he and his mother were swept away by a storm in which his mother lost her life. As he approaches the edge of manhood, his fear prevents him from winning a place in his community. Realizing their indifference to him, he sets out to sea alone in his canoe, taking only his dog and a few tools. That night he is caught in a storm, in which he loses his paddle and all his tools, and he washes up on an island where cannibals are known to live. He builds a shelter and canoe and chooses to survive; while living there he kills an octopus, a boar, and a shark, and faces the human terror of ritualistic cannibals, barely escaping with his life. At the end of his journey he returns to his village having proved himself a man.

The story is set in a mythical Polynesia, but is written in a European voice: at one point the author describes a canoe caught in a current "like a millrace," a term which is decidedly foreign to this island culture. The great weakness of this book is that the tribal societies which provide a backdrop for the story are caricatured: The tribal fishermen represent noble savages, living so close to nature that they become "ill at ease, charged... with an almost animal awareness of impending storm" (3). Conversely, the cannibal tribe represent a class of wordless, brutal primitives -- dancing with oiled bodies, beating drums around fires and stone idols, wailing, and shouting with guttural voices. Mafatu appeals throughout the story to Maui, "god of the Fishermen," and repeatedly challenges his nemesis Moana, the Sea God. Sperry's Maui, however, hardly resembles the Polynesian trickster named Maui, and the Moana of the story is only a personification of the sea (In some of the languages "moana" does mean sea or ocean.)

No one having read this book should believe they have learned anything about the real Polynesia -- it is no more a story about Polynesia than Little Red Riding Hood is about the European forest. Notwithstanding this, if a reader can accept that Call it Courage is a lesson not in history but in moral courage, they may benefit from the moral example this hero represents. Although Mafatu is limited by his youth and inexperience, he faces great dangers and survives, facing down one fear after another. By making critical choices under pressure, and by refusing to succumb to the elemental, animal, spiritual and human forces arrayed against him, he finally wins his victory. This coming of age is an accomplishment any young boy can aspire to.

Robert Heinlein once wrote that "Courage is not the absence of fear--it is the conquest of fear. The man who is truly fearless is not courageous. He is also a fool." Young Mafatu, a Polynesian islander, fears the ocean. This is something akin to a cowboy fearing cattle. His fear causes him a great deal of discomfiture and makes him an object of scorn and ridicule.
Sperry tells the story of how Mafatu (which means "Stout Heart") faced and conquered his fear. I read the story some 40 years ago as a young child. Although I wasn't really searching for anything other than the subject matter for a book report, I came away from "Call it Courage" with something far more important than a long-forgotten grade.
Simply, elegantly, Sperry explores the nature of courage and helps the young reader to come to a better understanding of that most misunderstood quality.

A great adventure book, of a young man who suffers a tragedy and then conquers his worst fears. He is an islander living a simple exhistance, when his fishermanfather is killed by a shark. After that he is afraid of the sea and deemed useless by the villagers that live off the sea. He gets lost on a deserted island and must learn to fend for himself. The villagers all assume that this clumsy boy could not make it one day on his own, but he does very well indeed. His Robinson Crusoe-like adventure is one that folks like us could not survive, since he was more prepared than we could ever hope to be since his people lived off the land and sea already. By the way, in 1972 the Walt Disney studio made a very very nice live action version of this for their weekly tv show and you can do a search for the vhs version and get a used copy here at the store.

The book Call It Courage was written by Armstrong Sperry, and is about a boy named Mafatu, which means `stout heart'. Mafatu, who lives on the pacific island of Hikueru, has an enormous fear of the sea caused by a canoe accident that took his mothers life, and he is constantly mocked with taunts about being a coward. One day he is fed up with it, and along with his dog Uri, he sets out on a canoe to prove to himself and others that he is not a coward. When Mafatu reaches another island, adventure ensues when he has to learn to survive on his own and return to Hikueru with pride and courage.
This book was all right because it was entertaining and interesting, but the thing I didn't like is that it's very simple. I recommend it to a younger age group, it is a good book for young children and people who like simple reading.

Call It Courage is a story about a young Polynesian boy named Mafatu, meaning, "Stout Heart". However, people call him a coward because of his fear of the Moana, or the ocean god. It killed his mother when he was yet a baby, and he happened to be with her, clinging for life.

Now that he is grown up, it is time to grow up, and leave his fear of the ocean, and other things, behind. No one seems to believe in Mafuatu, except his dog, Uri, and albatross, Kivi. They are his true friends, and truly believe IN him.

Throughout this book, Mafatu leaves his home island, to go across the sea to fight his fears. He overcomes many trials and really learns to stand up to his own doubts and the doubts of others. The young boy, after learning what it takes to become `fearless', and being able to live on his own, finally returns to his home island Hikueru.

CALL IT COURAGE BY ARMSTRONG SPEERY
THIS STORY WAS REALLY GOOD AND I ENCOUGE PEOPLE TO READ IT. SOME BOOKS PEOPLE PICK UP, READ A CHAPTER THEN THEY JUST PUT IT DOWN AND NEVER SEE IN IT AGAIN. BUT WHEN YOU READ THIS BOOK YOU NEVER PUT IT DOWN UNTIL YOU FINISH IT. IF YOU HAVE NEVER READ A NEWBERY AWARD BOOK BEFORE, THEN THIS IS YOUR PEFECT TIME TO READ ONE. AND YOU CAN SEE OTHER NEWBERY AWARD BOOKS ON WWW.NEWBERYAWARADS.COM. THAT WILL SHOW ALL OF THE NEWBERY AWARDS FROM 1922 TILL 2000. CALL IT COURAGE IS EASY TO FIND IN YOUR LIBRAIRY, TOO. THIS BOOK IS A 4-5 READING LEVEL AND 6-8 CAN STILL READ IT. YOU CAN READ IT IN SCHOOL IN FIFTH OR FORTH GRADE. IT IS A REALLY GOOD BOOK. EVERYONE WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE GOOD READER BECAUSE YOU READ THIS BOOK.

Call it Courage was written by Armstrong Sperry. It's a story about a boy who was afraid of the sea because Mona the Sea God took his mother away when they were out in a canoe. Then Mafatu became afraid of the sea. Since then all the other guys call him the boy who was afraid. This book is very good. It makes you wonder what's going to come next. Some parts may be a little boring, but keep with the book because the rest is very interesting. This book kept me interested through it almost the whole entire time it's good. Read it and see what I'm talking about.

Great story loved reading this story when I was in 3rd grade. Great story for any boy in the 2-5 grade range. Thought about this book with great public service ad the library of congress is running to promote their reading lists on literacy.gov.

This short book by Sperry (1897-1976) won the 1941 Newbery Medal for best contribution to American children's literature. Mafatu, a Polynesian boy of 15 years old, has an intense fear of the ocean. At the age of three he was nearly killed when his mother drowned. Now he must conquer his fears. He goes off on his own and finds the courage within him. The story (probably for ages 9 to 13) starts off on the island of Hikueru in the Tuamotu Archipelago east of Tahiti at a time before European ships and missionaries had arrived. Apparently, Sperry, who had traveled throughout the South Pacific, based his story on an old and true Polynesian tale.

Have you ever read the book called Call it Courage? You haven't, I'm going to tell you a summary and what I think about it. There was a boy `'Mafatu'' that went out to the sea with his dog ''Uri'' to proof his courage. He went there because everyone thought he was afraid of the sea. On the way he lost his knife, and almost lost his dog, when he got to the island he found another one. But there weren't any people. He had to fight lots giant animals. He had to hunt his food and take care of his self, and when he went home he would proof his courage. I think that it is a good book because it shows people that you should face your fears, and not be afraid. I think he was scared to go out to the sea alone. I know I would be scared. It didn't matter how old he was, he still tried to face his fears. I think this book should be graded a 5 because I think it encourages us to not be afraid any more. To face what were scared of. If you are a person that wants to proof your courage, than you should read this book. That is what I think about this book.

My son is a relatively-straggling-reader and will be reading this book in 4th grade, so I decided to "pre-read" it, so I can help him with school work when needed. I love reading, read a lot of books with looooong descriptions of ... you name it... Do not be surprised if your kid doesn't like the book. I found it less than exiting. The plot is very simplistic; I believe one could have expressed the idea "it's not easy to earn the respect of others and concur your fears, but worth while doing" in a much more entertaining way. The language is good, but challenging, at least for elementary school. My feeling - I wish my son's school found another book for required reading.

The biggest shortcoming of this book is that it is too short. It glosses over long periods of time and so many of the things that Mafatu did that it leaves questions and holes in the story.

The author does use the word "blacks" in a negative way, but "eaters-of-men" is not derogatory - there truly are/were cannibals on some Pacific islands.

The ending is well done, leaving the reader unsure of Mafatu and Uri's survival.

Call it Courage

The book Call it Courage was the best page flipping don't want to see the cover 93 page book I ever read. If you are looking for a short story with lots of action, than this is the book for you. I was looking for a short book that looked like a good action story with a medal. Well, this book fits all three categories with only ninety-three pages, a great, exciting cover, and a medal. This is why I recommend this book to you.

This is a book about survival. The two other books about a young person finding for themselves and being independent from parents is "Hatchet" and "Island Keeper"

This books again is an island boy stuck on an island in the Pacific. This is how he survived and got off of the island by himself with no help from older parents, this book is a good example of all his internal thoughts.

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.

Call It Courage is an acceptable book. The plot goes really quickly, but there's not a lot of action. I'd say it's good for kids 8-10, maybe 11. However, I liked it, because it's pretty realistic and the main character, Mafatu, has a lot of conflict within himself.

Mafatu lives in Polynesia. He has been afraid of the ocean since being a young child.
Now his peers are teasing and saying cruel things to him about his fear. He knows
that he must overcome his fear, so he sails out alone on the sea to prove to all that he
is brave. This is an exciting tale of courage of a young boy who is trying to prove that
he has a "stout heart." Enjoyable! written by Bob Townsend

The kid that wanted courage
This is one of the slowest books I've ever read and having absolutely no plot whatsoever it moves along at a slow drawl. Although character development is fine and there is a good theme, the foreshadowing ruins all that so I knew what happened around every corner. If the author didn't use so much foreshadowing it would be an enjoyable book. After one of his best friends called him a coward he sets off on a journey for courage.
During a storm his canoe is wrecked and he washes up on a mysterious island. For shelter he builds a hut of bamboo and in case he needs a quick get away he starts building another canoe. Being a 5-chapter book while three of these chapters the boy, Mufatu spends on the ocean with his dog Uri, I thought it was not worth reading. I do not recommend this book unless you like slow stories.
A reviewer

What was my teacher thinking? I was randomly thinking of what the names of the books were for my past English classes and "Call It Courage" came to mind. We read this in 6th grade and we had several vocabulary tests in regards to the book and I remember a lot of us failing the tests due to the the difficulty of the vocabulary. What 6th grader knows the meaning of "grotesque," or "albatross," or "zephyr?" This was in 2006.

The Newberry medal simply does not go to very many good books (with a few amazing exceptions, like "Maniac Magee"), and I can't say that this breaks the rule at all. It's simply a dull, cliched story about a kid who has to learn how to survive on an island, and I almost fell asleep when I was forced to read it in elementary school. For the record, I actually like quite a few books assigned at school (unlike most people) but this one just left me completely cold.

Call It Courage is about a young boy named Mafatu who lost his mother to the sea when he was only 3. Everyone thinks he's a coward and he sails off with his dog, Uri, and his albatross, Kivi to seek courage. My favorite part was when Mafatu was sliding down the dried up lava on a huge leaf. This is a wonderful, heart-warming story about having courage and facing your fears. That's why I think that you would want to read this book!

...In this book a boy called Mafatu is almost scared of everything. One day he decides that he is sick of people making fun of him so he he takes a canoe and goes out into the ocean alone with his dog. A storm breaks out and he is sweapt out on to an island and there is nothing to eat. He searches for fruit and meat and he realizes that he is not alone. Who is on the island with him? Find out by buying the book.

This book is the reason most people still know of Sperry's work. It has been in print continuously for nearly sixty years, a testament to the endurance of this story's appeal, and the influence of a Newbery Medal.

This story is about a boy whom people believed didn't have any courage. My favorite part was when he was on the deserted island and he had to fend for himself. I liked it when he set a trap for fish, made a knife and found a spear, killed a big shark and a boar and an octopus. This took place in the middle of the story. The setting is on an island near Australia. This story is encouraging because Mafatu, the main character, developed all kinds of courage. Read the book and find out how.

My daughters (10 and 12) read Call it Courage and they both liked it. The story of an independent youth striking out on the open ocean in a canoe really captivated my 10 yr old, and although my 12 yr old liked it well enough she thought it better suited to a younger audience.

Call it Courage is about a young boy named Mafatu. Mafatu is afraid of the sea because it killed his mother. He is always made fun of by the other Polynesian boys his age. Eventually, he decides to sail away. Mafatu lands on a cannibalistic island. He escapes the cannibals and returns home a courageous boy. I read this book at school and thought it was great. The only problem was all of the foreign words, most of which were not explained. Otherwise, this was an awesome book and I thoroughly encourage you to read it. You will not be disappointed!

Mafatu is the name of the main character, these means Stout Heart. He is a 12-year-old Polynesian boy living on the rocky Island of Hikueru. As a child he watched his mother drown and ever since he has feared the sea. The God of the sea is named Moana, Which Mafatu believes will get him someday for escaping his grasps. Mafatu is the son of the great Chief of Hikueru, his father looks down at him for being a coward and not fishing like the other young tribe boys. Tired of being called a coward, being laughed at by the girls and the boys not letting him play there games, Mafatu, along with his faithful dog begin an a jouney across the sea in the search of courage...

This book starts out a little slow. The action picks up in the second chapter when Mafatu goes out into the sea he has feared for so long. He is determined to show he does have the courage to be a strong man. This is a wonderful book for people of all ages.

I remembered this story fondly from the time my 6th grade teacher read it to our class, so I recommended it to my 11-year-old daughter. According to her, it started out somewhat slowly, but overall it was very interesting and exciting. Some parts she even found to be scary, but not so much so that she didn't enjoy it. Her favorite part was when the main character was chased by cannibals. She said that she would definitely recommend it to others, and gave it 4 stars only because of the slow start.

I was introduced to this book when my teacher read it to the class when I was in grade 2 or 3. Years later, I picked it up and read it again. I enjoyed this book so much more the second time around. Reading it when I was older, I realized how heart-wrenching the ending was. Say what you will, but it made me bawl my eyes out, and I was 15! Obviously, it was below my reading level, but that's no reason not to read this book. If you don't mind the fact that it seems very short and simple to an older reader, it certainly is well worth reading.

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry is about Mafatu, a cowardly boy who goes off to confront his fear of the sea and winds up on a dangerous island. This book has a good moral but too much foreshadowing. You can easily guess how things will work out. Also, what's with the cliffhanger at the end? Is Mafatu dead, unconscious, or just exhausted? Sperry just cuts it off and gives some background information. I'm just unimpressed by this book and I don't recommend it.

This book is about a boy named Mafatu. Ever since Mafatu's mother got killed in the sea Mafatu has been terrified of the sea. He thinks that the sea god, Moana, is out to get him and all of the people in his tribe make fun of his foolishness. Mafatu sets out on a journey to prove them wrong. This books takes you through the adventures that Mafatu has and shows what he learns and how he grows. This book is a fast and easy read. It is very predictable and I would recommend it to younger kids.

Our class read Windcatcher and really enjoyed it. One of our favorite parts was when Tony had to dive for his sneaker and saw what he thought was whale bones. Tony had to make an important decision at the end of the book.