53/2021. Arctic Hero : the incredible life of Matthew Henson, by Catherine Johnson, is a biography of African American Matthew Henson the famous Arctic explorer, written for children, with illustrations by Seb Camagajevac. Johnson is a reliable children's fiction author who has written both historical and contemporary fiction. She also made an excellent job of this non-fiction. Even bearing in mind her experience as an author, I was surprised how well she tackled the tougher issues in Henson's life story, especially his difficult childhood, the appalling racism he experienced, and his second Inuit family created outside conventional Western ideas of marriage. Most importantly, this is a perfect book for kids whether as interesting history or exciting adventure. ( )