Alexandra Stewart

This is a delightful book for both kids and adults which weaves the tale of Jumbo the elephant around delightful full colour illustrations depicting the life and journeys of this most famous of pachyderms

This is the kind of book i would've loved as a child - the true story from the 19th century really resonates today when elephants are more protected.

The book fully earns its 5 stars just for the illustrations alone and coupled with the well told tale it is one of the best childrens books I've seen in a long time… (más)

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay team up to be the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Learn more about each of these men and what drove them to this great achievement.
This book is recommended for readers in grades 3-5. The artwork is engaging but the text is rather small and difficult to read. There are reference helps such as a table of contents, titles and subtitles, simple maps and timelines. This book would work well for research about Tenzing and Hillary, as well as other failed attempts to climb Mount Everest.… (más)

This picture book for older readers aged 9 and up tells the story of how the team of New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tibetan Tenzing Norgay became the first to climb Mount Everest successfully, the tallest mountain in the world, and reach the top on May 29, 1953.

The book begins with background about Mount Everest and explains why it is so challenging to climb. A “Survival Guide” later in the book goes into details about the stresses on human bodies presented by low temperatures and high altitudes. It then delves into the backgrounds of Hillary and Norgay and tells how each got interested in climbing Everest. Details are also given on other expeditions at the time competing to be the first to make the summit, beginning in 1921 after the Dalai Lama of Tibet granted permission.

Landmarks on the face of the mountain, familiar to adults who have read books like Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, are shown and described graphically. Other people who (often inadvertently) contributed to the success of the team receive thumbnail sketches, such as the person who invented the climbing boots they wore, and the one who created the heavy sleeping bags they used.

Joe Todd-Stanton turns the book into a graphic novel with fascinating and fact-filled illustrations.

Evaluation: The quest to climb 29,032 foot-tall Mt. Everest is the quintessential adventure story. In the process of reading about it, kids will also learn a lot about geography and anatomy, and will see how achievements that seem “solitary” often rest on the shoulders of scores of others.… (más)