Call It Courage

Summary

Mafatu is the twelve-year-old son of a Polynesian king. His people worship courage and his name means "stout heart". Despite these facts, Mafatu is terrified of the sea. His mother drowned when he was much younger and ever since then, he has believed that the sea wanted to kill him too. When he is no longer able to stand being taunted and teased as a coward, he sets off alone, except for his dog and his albatross, in a boat to conquer his fears. He survives a terrible storm and lives by his wits on a desert island, proving to himself that he is brave and resourceful.

Instructional Activities

• Begin a K-W-L chart about the book before reading. Explore questions about life in the Polynesian islands through non-fiction books for any questions not answered in the book.

• Have students summarize the main events of each chapter on sentence strips. Use the sentence strips for sequencing and retelling practice after the story.

• Compare the characters of Mafatu and James Henry Trotter (from James and the Giant Peach ). How are they alike? (Both lost family when young. Both went on a journey. Both learned about hidden strengths. Both were clever and resourceful. Both had non-human companians.) How are they different? (Different parts of the world. James' trip was one way, while Mafatu's was round trip.)

• After reading each chapter, write a title for the chapter.

• Using a mind-mapping program, create a character web for Mafatu, showing personality traits and supporting evidence from the story.

• Vocabulary: indifference, impending, ominous, tumult, deference, utmost, pursuit, impaled

Web Resources

Book Guide online