Dare the Wind: The Record-Breaking Voyage of Eleanor Prentiss and the Flying Cloud by Tracey Fern, illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully

Ever since she was a little girl, Eleanor Prentiss dreamed of being at sea.  Her father had a trading schooner and though others thought he was a fool, he taught his young daughter how to steer it.  Most importantly though, he also taught her what few sailors and only some captains knew, how to navigate.  Ellen quickly learned how to navigate and started using her new skills on her father’s schooner every chance she got.  As she grew older, Ellen married a captain and served as his navigator.  Then the two of them acquired a clipper, The Flying Cloud.  It was a fast boat, one that could make them bonus money if they could make the trip from New York to San Francisco around Cape Horn in the fastest time ever.  It would be down to the innate speed of the Flying Cloud and to the navigating skills of Eleanor.  Sea journeys are never simple, especially ones done at high speed through stormy waters.  Take an incredible ride with the amazing Eleanor Prentiss, who proved that women can be right at home at sea.

Fern writes with a dynamism that matches this heroine.  She has an exuberant quality to her writing and a tone that invites you along on a wild adventure.  At the same time, she makes sure that young readers understand how unusual Eleanor Prentiss was at the time with the way she was raised and the knowledge she built and life she led.  The book reads like fiction particularly on the journey itself where a series of misfortunes plague their maiden voyage.  Even without the race against time, the journey would be harrowing, add in that pressure and you have a nail-biting read.

McCully’s art ranges in this book.  She captures Ellen both on land and at sea, her body strong against the roll of the waves.  She also paints water with a love for its greens and blues and the depth of color.  The storms are violently dark, the harbors a shining blue, this is water in all of its glory.

I grew up in a house named after the ship Flying Cloud and am so pleased to read a picture book about the ship’s history and learn more about the woman who navigated her.  This is one dynamic and well-told biographical picture book.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Farrar Straus Giroux.