The Cruise of the Arctic Star: A Voyage from San Diego to the Columbia River

Gr 5–9—O'Dell relates an account (Houghton Mifflin, 1973) of his journey up the coast of California from San Diego to the Columbia River in his boat, the Arctic Star. The boat carried the author, his wife, a friend, and a rather unreliable hired hand. Along the journey, the author recounts historical tales of the discoverers, explorers and settlers of California adventurers , such as Kit Carson and Jedediah Smith, and provides information about geography and the environment along the way. The narration also includes a great deal of information about sailing. Published 40 years ago, some of the material is dated, such as the lack of cell phones. Robert Blumenfeld narrates in a strong voice, but his failure to differentiate the factual aspects of the book from the storytelling segments is a problem. Alsok, his voicing of the dialogue is stiff. The print version is a better choice.—Mariela Siegert, Westfield Middle School, Bloomingdale, IL