As a reader, I’m always of the lookout for bold, strong female characters and in The Girl Who Rowed the Ocean, I found one in Lucy. This story charts her fantastic adventure.
One day, Lucy decides to do something extraordinary, something most wouldn’t dream of doing, something that will inspire those around her forever. Her personal mission to row the ocean is superbly told with the perils, such as storms and collisions with much, much larger seacrafts, contrasting with the long days of aching arms, boredom and sore bottoms.
Alastair Humphreys is an expert on tales of explorers and feats of endurance to travel the globe. His personal experiences ensure that each chapter is filled with fascinating details about life at sea in such challenging circumstances. Children will adore collecting as many tips as possible in the hope of one day following in Lucy’s footsteps.
Now for the teacher bit. The assignments that Lucy’s class complete over the course of her journey are presented and this makes this book quite unique in terms of providing a brilliant range of text types to explore. It really is a gem for teachers who like to plan their writing opportunities from an inspiring book. Of course, there are countless aspects of geography that could be taught to a captivating audience thanks to the fantastic level of research done by Alastair Humphreys.
A book made for teachers to teach from – a must try!
The Great British Bookworm 