Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

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<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">Image:JeanLeeLatham CarryOnMrBowditch.jpg</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">First edition cover</td></tr> <tr><th>Cover Artist</th><td>John O'Hara Cosgrave II</td></tr><tr><th>Country</th><td>United States</td></tr><tr><th>Language</th><td>English</td></tr><tr><th>Genre(s)</th><td>Children's novel, Biographical novel</td></tr> <tr><th>Media Type</th><td>Print (Hardback & Paperback)</td></tr><tr><th>ISBN</th><td>0-395-06881-9 / 0-395-13713-6(pbk)</td></tr>

**Carry On, Mr. Bowditch**
Author	Jean Lee Latham
Publisher	Houghton Mifflin
Released	9 September 1955

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is a novel by Jean Lee Latham that was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1956.

The book is a children's biography of Nathaniel Bowditch, a sailor and mathematician who published the mammoth and comprehensive reference work for seamen: The American Practical Navigator. It is an epic tale of adventure and learning.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The novel introduces readers to young Nat Bowditch, a boy who loves school, and especially mathematics. He dreams of someday attending Boston's Harvard University, but is forced by economic circumstances to quit school and begin working. Eventually, he ends up as an indentured servant to a ship's chandler. Still determined to continue his education, he begins to study (and master) advanced mathematics in the evenings after work.

When his indenture is complete, he gets the chance to go to sea. There, he discovers that many of the navigational sources used at the time contain extensive and dangerous errors. He is prompted to compile a new book of navigational information. This book, The American Practical Navigator, is still in use today.