Our two young adult explorers are off to a new location,
having taken in Canadian forest, Egyptian desert and
Botswana veldt to date. GANNON AND WYATT: GREENLAND by
Patti Wheeler and Keith Hemstreet takes the intrepid lads
to the ice-covered island at the top of the world.
Twins Gannon and Wyatt are going to help measure the
temperature, ice melt, air pollution and other factors to
aid research into climate change. Wyatt is the more
scientifically minded but both boys keep journals of their
adventures. They meet local people - among other things we
learn that the Inuit word 'issi ' means 'it is very cold'.
The boys are travelling with the Youth Exploration Society
and have had practise with dogsleds in Colorado. Nuka, a
boy their own age, will be one of their guides.
I loved the descriptions of the small towns - every timber
house is painted in bright colours, and ice sheets the
roofs, while all the boys can hear is dogs howling. The
population is 4,500 people and 6,000 sled dogs. Adding
intense pressure to the five-day journey is the fact that
a
high Arctic village has several families who are stranded
out on the ice because all the sled dogs mysteriously got
sick. The little team and a professional sled guide and
veterinarian called Unaaq must bring them food if they are
to survive. The tensions mount as the team travels and
young readers will find this exciting while learning a lot
about how the native people survive in this remote region.
The book is well illustrated with photos of the trip and
decorations, but unfortunately this made it annoyingly
slow
to pass through my screen from the very start, so maybe a
paper version is a better bet. Some of the photos are
amazing, showing a glacier, traditional outdoor dress,
sled
dogs ready to work and a helicopter alighting on the ice.
GANNON AND WYATT: GREENLAND by Patti Wheeler and Keith
Hemstreet ticks all the boxes for a thrilling and fact-
packed young adult read.
Upon arriving in Ilulissat, Greenland, Gannon and Wyatt
prepare for the adventure of a lifetime—a dogsled
expedition in the Arctic! But before the explorers even
crack a whip, they receive a desperate mayday call from an
Inuit family that is stranded in the far north. Suddenly,
Gannon and Wyatt’s expedition to study climate change and
Greenlandic culture turns into something far more
dangerous—a mission to save lives. As they rush north to
rescue the family, led by Inuit guides, the brothers must
steer clear of deadly hidden crevasses, hungry polar
bears, and bitter cold as they race into an Arctic super-
storm, putting even more lives in jeopardy—their own.
In the tradition of the historic journals kept by
explorers such as Lewis and Clark, Dr. David Livingstone,
and Captain James Cook comes the adventure series Travels
with Gannon and Wyatt. From Africa to the South Pacific,
these twin brothers have traveled the world. You never
know what they will encounter as they venture into the
wild, but one thing is certain wherever Gannon and Wyatt
go, adventure is their constant companion.
You can find Gannon and Wyatt’s blog, photographs, and
video footage from their real-life expeditions at
travelswithgannonandwyatt.com.