How I Survived Four Nights on the Ice – Serapio Ittusardjuat; illustrated by Matthew K. Hoddy

   How I Survived Four Nights on the Ice – Serapio Ittusardjuat; illustrated by Matthew K. Hoddy, Inhabit Media; (9781772272727), 2020

Format: hardcover graphic nonfiction

Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 3

Genre:  nonfiction

What did you like about the book? How I survived Four Nights on the Ice is a short nonfiction graphic novel about an individual who uses his skills and knowledge as an Indigenous person to stay alive after his snowmobile breaks down far from his home. Serapio was out fishing far from his home in the Arctic when his snowmobile breaks down. He has very few supplies and no water, but uses his knowledge of the Arctic climate and survival techniques to survive four nights on the sea ice. 

Some pages are one single image with ice in all directions; the visuals provide an effective reminder of the desolation and danger of the Arctic climate. The author shares with readers that he was never afraid because he remembered the lessons of his elders. Readers who enjoy reading stories of survival will be interested to learn specific ways to survive in the Arctic and the dangers of certain strategies. 

To whom would you recommend this book?  Students who enjoy survival stories.

Anything you didn’t like about it? It’s very sparse and short. I wanted more details and more text. Perhaps some extra nonfiction text elements with explanations of certain survival strategies or Indigenous traditions would have filled out this resource.

Who should buy this book? Recommended as a supplemental purchase for elementary and middle school libraries.

Where would you shelve it? Graphic nonfiction

Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No

Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Laura Gardner, Dartmouth Middle School, Dartmouth, MA

Date reviewed: September 16, 2020