Kirkpatrick, Katherine. 2007. The Snow Baby: The Arctic Childhood of Admiral Robert E. Peary's Daring Daughter.
This is a nonfiction book on the life of Marie Ahnighito Peary, the daughter of Arctic explorer Robert E. Peary and Josephine Peary. She was born on September 12, 1893 "in the far north of Greenland, at the edge of an ice bay, in a house covered with tar paper." The house was the headquarters for Peary and his crew of explorers during his 1893-1895 expedition. She was to spend the first year of her life there living life much like a Inuit baby. I don't imagine she would have recalled much from this time period, but later visits reinforced the climate and atmosphere her father loved so much. Alternating her time from the United States and the Arctic regions, she had an interesting childhood. Her father was gone most of the time, and even when he was physically present, he was often preoccupied with his work. He was always planning the next big adventure, the next expedition, the next journey, the next this and that. Still, she had nothing but admiration for her "brave" father who lived life out in the wild and harsh environment. But as she became older, her life became more "normal" with her attending regular schools and learning how to be an ordinary "lady" of society. The book concludes with her still quite young--a teenager--and with the successful mission of her father in reaching the North Pole. What makes this book interesting is the photographs. I enjoyed this one, and for those interested in explores--be it the North or South Pole--I think this will be a great read.
4 comments:
Sounds quite interesting! I think everyone loves reading about the childhoods of people who grew up in unusual times, places, and circumstances.
It would be nice to know how she felt as an adult, but this sounds like a good start to learn more about her. I seem to recall hearing not such good things about her father - maybe connected with his dogs? Nice review, Becky.
I wish the book had examined the father more honestly. I would imagine any child who grew up with a father that essentially ignored her most of the time OR was physically gone from the home for years at a time...has to impact the quality of a relationship. To know that your father's main priority isn't to spend time with his family but instead to follow his ever-important dreams and to be half a world away for about 70% of your child and teen years...yet the book maintains that she stayed positive and proud of her dad. But I think the fact that it stops before she started to really "grow" up says something. Her father had an Inuit mistress and several children in his home away from home. And I think that would have had to hurt her. The book just says "she never commented publicly on her father's mistress and her half-siblings."
Hi Becky, I sent out a mass email to a bunch of publishers today, so hopefully you'll start getting some more emails from them!
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