Section 5– Related reading
Matthew Henson Library
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These books, while not directly about Matt Henson, are of interest because they are about his friends or otherwise relate to the Arctic.

Call Me Ahnighito (Ah-na-HEET-o)
Synopsis
The first picture book narrated by a meteorite from the award-winning creators of The Tub People. Based on the true story of the Peary expedition's discovery of this famous meteorite, Pam Conrad's latest gem is told from a distinctive point of view, and illustrated with museum-quality paintings by Caldecott winner Richard Egielski. Full color.

Matthew Henson Website review:
This is one charming book! Look at the pictures I've selected here to see why they say "...illustrated with museum-quality paintings by Caldecott winner Richard Egielski..."These are big 8"x10" prints very suitable for framing. I would buy two copies - one to frame the pictures and the other to read to a young person. My mother did that with my first reading books and I loved to enjoy the illustrations as framed art for years to come.

There is one picture with Matt Henson in it. The authors did not credit him, but I've added an arrow with his name in the picture, below.

This was a truly massive meteorite, 70,000 pounds and still today an amazing specimen. Henson and Peary had a heck of a time getting this huge specimen and it's two smaller pieces on a ship - it took several expeditions to finally move the main mass onto a ship. Peary made a sensation in the press when he brought the meteorite to New York. Today it is still a main exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. I know, because as a child I used to climb on it as a child on those special days when my Mother would drive us in to New York from Connecticut for a day of exploring the great museum.

Bradley Robinson, July, 1998

Reading level: Ages 4-8 (I'm 48 and I loved it!)

Call Me Ahnighito ~ Ships in 2-3 days
Pam Conrad, Richard Egielski (Illustrator) / Hardcover / Published 1995
Our Price: $10.46 ~ You Save: $4.49 (30%)
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Call Me Ahnighito
Pam Conrad, Richard Egielski / Library Binding / Published 1995
Our Price: $14.89
Read more about this title... Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover (May 1995)
Harpercollins Juvenile Books; ISBN: 0060233222 Dimensions (in inches): 0.60 x 8.30 x 11.31

Natural History for display. In what can only be described as an odd (and not terribly successful) choice of voice, the story is told in first person from the point of view of the meteorite. If readers can get past the anthropomorphism ("I lay open, exposed, and so alone" ), this does offer interesting details of how the rock was extracted from the ground and its subsequent moves. The rock also communicates its fear of tumbling into the sea, its satisfaction at being christened Ahnighito, and its boredom while sitting on the dock. Well-composed paintings, full of lively depictions of the people and places around Ahnighito, stretch across wide double-page spreads. Throughout the book, Egielski achieves subtle and exceptionally beautiful effects with color, texture, and light. An unusual resource for classroom units on astronomy, geology, or the Arctic. Carolyn Phelan Copyright© 1995, American Library Association. All rights reserved

From Horn Book
This book about a meteorite is told in the first person by the meteorite -- and the narrative actually works. The story details how the meteorite, having landed in the Arctic, waits for hundreds of years until it is discovered by the Peary expedition in 1897, christened Ahnighito,and brought to New York. Conrad uses evocative phrases, and Egielski's interpretations of the Arctic are magnificent. --Copyright © 1995 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.

Buy this book at Amazon.com

Copyright © 1999 Bradley Robinson