My Wilderness: An Alaskan Adventure

K-Gr 4—In this beautifully presented text, McGehee brings to life the true story of Rockwell "Rocky" Kent III's adventures with his father, Rockwell Kent II, as they spent seven months on a remote island off Seward, AK, during the winter of 1918. Nine-year-old Rocky begs his mother to let him accompany his father on a painting expedition, which finds them living with Lars Olsen, an old trapper, and Olsen's family of angora goats. McGehee's meticulous scratchboard illustrations pair with Rocky's first-person narrative to foster a tone of wonder and discovery, as driftwood becomes a lookout on the beach and whale fin sightings become pirate ships. The love between father and son is woven throughout the text in the images of Robinson Crusoe read-alouds and joint snow baths in powdery piles outside their cabin. This is a clearly formed tale of father-son adventure that has a nostalgic feel.