Call it Courage

Title: Call it Courage
Author: Armstrong Sperry
Major Themes: South Pacific Islands, Polynesia, Oceania, Survival
Synopsis: A young Polynesian boy, who has been afraid of the sea since his mother drowned and he almost did, when he was three, is stranded on an uninhabited island and must face his fears to survive.

First published in 1940, Call it Courage draws you in from the beginning! Mafatu was terrified of the sea, and for a Polynesian boy whose people lived from the sea, that was a disgrace. His father was ashamed of him, and his peers mocked him—even the one who had always stood up for him was now mocking. Mafatu decided he must show them—and himself—that he could face the sea, but the results were unexpected.

After a few days of drifting helplessly across the ocean, Mafatu found himself and his dog thrown up on the beach of an uninhabited island. At least, he hoped it was uninhabited. To his terror, he soon found evidence that the dreaded eaters-of-men used the island for their terrifying rituals. Soon, he was very thankful for the skill he had developed in making tools. Would he be able to leave the island, however, before the eaters-of-men came back?

Call it Courage is great for anyone who loves a good adventure. It also makes a good supplement for a study of the Pacific Islands and their people. My boys were spell-bound as I read it. Apparently, this legend has been told for many centuries by Mafatu’s people in the Pacific.

WARNING: Mafatu frequently thinks about or prays to various Polynesian gods; throughout the book, he believes that certain gods are after him and want his life. A boy is bullied at the beginning of the story. A woman dies in ch. 1, after she and her son were swept out to sea. Someone almost drowns in ch. 2. I swear it is used in ch. 3. Also in ch. 3, someone comes across a hideous idol with bones piled around the base: “Bones too large for dogs, too large for pigs […] here the eaters-of-men made their terrible sacrifices.…” This is the most description given on this topic, although the name “eaters-of-men” comes up several other times. In ch. 4, someone has desperate fights with a shark and an octopus, and a wild pig is killed. A man is whacked hard on the head in ch. 5, and someone narrowly escapes being caught and killed.

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