This biography about Daniel Hall is one of adventure. Stanley explains how Daniel left his house at age fourteen to become a whaler. It's amazing that this young man survived all of the rough situations he got into. For example, he got out of a very sticky situation with bears coming to his camp site!
This book is very wordy, but fairly easy to follow. it is written in a fairly average way. It would be better understood by older children rather than young children. I would not make a class of students read it, but it is informational about Daniel Hall. ( )

A courageous young boy takes off at the age of 14 to be a whaler. His journey is filled with many joys but also very many hardships. We get a look at his 5-year journey at sea and get a better understanding of his trip. Although it wasn't an easy one, he pushed through.
The illustrations help us to imagine what life was like on those ships.
We learn that even though your current situation is hard, that if you want it to get better you must do that for yourself ( )

This was not what I expected from this book. It started off happy and promising of great adventures, but it turned out to be some pretty scary adventures. Daniel Hall wanted to go Whaling (which was common for young boys at this time) and his dad finally let him go. Daniel's captain hates him and would often beat him. One day when they were in the pursuit of catching the whale, Daniel's boat ore got stuck and slowed them down ending in a brutal beating. When the crew camped out, Daniel and his friend sneak away. This is not where it ends. Daniel has to kill a bear, he is not allowed in Oudskoi village because of his broken ribs from the beating, he is trapped in a tree by a group of wolves. However, the book does end on a good note when he learns his father has been looking for him and he returns home. This book is a little rash but I think it is good to expose the readers to this person's reality. You learn things like whale blubber was very important because it was used to light lamps and such. It also shows how limited communication was. Though I would recommend this book for a mature group of children, this book is full of adventure and is entertaining for a biography. ( )

The True Adventure of Daniel Hall by Diane Stanley is a good book that I enjoyed. It is about a boy that leaves home to join a ship and then he realizes he has bit off more thatn he can bargain for because of the mean ship captain. He has to live off the land and deal with inclimate weather but he is finally rescued by his father. I thought this story was good because I enjoy adventurous stories and I think most young boys would enjoy this book as well. ( )

Daniel Hall is a young boy who sets sail on a boat with dreams of a better life. He wants to have an amazing adventure, but gets surprised when the captain and crew are mean! He jumps off board and lands in even a better adventure than he imagined!