Chanelle laughed. "You'd never have the guts to get near a polar bear in real life. And you'd never travel that far. You the mamma's boy, I hear."

But Chanelle is wrong. Alvin has more guts than even he realizes. And he isn't a mamma's boy. In fact, when his over protective mother goes too far, he leaves home.

Where can Alvin go, though?

He heads north. He will follow in the footsteps of his hero -- Matthew Henson, the bold Arctic explorer. Alvin will prove that he can take care of himself. Alvin will go north to the deadly cold; north to terrifying, frozen windy expanses, where it's easy to get lost even near shelter; north to polar bears and wolves; north to himself. . . .

This book was recognised by the Parents' Choice Award. It was recognised in the Junior / YA category by the South Carolina Childrens Junior and Young Adult Book Award.

There are 344 pages in this book. This book was published 2004 by Simon & Schuster Ltd .

Donna Jo Napoli is a linguistics professor and has written more than eighty books for young readers. She lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. www. donnajonapoli. com