    | Race to the bottom of the Earth : surviving Antarctica Author: Barone, Rebecca | |
| Price: $24.48 | ||
Summary:
The true stories of two Antarctica expeditions a century apart that both became races. Equal parts adventure and science, this exhilarating account is perfect for budding explorers, scientists, history buffs, survivalists, and thrill seekers.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG+ Reading Level: 6.90 Points: 8.0 Quiz: 513781 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (10/15/20)
School Library Journal (+) (05/01/21)
Booklist (+) (12/01/20)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (+) (12/01/20)
The Hornbook (00/05/21)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 12/01/2020 *Starred Review* This engaging account relates four of the most perilous feats of exploration ever attempted: the early twentieth-century race to the South Pole, which pitted Robert Scott of England against Norwegian Roald Amundsen, and the twenty-first-century contest between American Colin O'Brady and Louis Rudd of England to see who would be the first to achieve a solo crossing of Antarctica. Chapters seesaw back and forth, and while this may prove confusing at first, individual characters and specific survival strategies soon emerge. Readers will be caught up in the real-time action sequences and should end up rooting for everybody as these determined individuals face unimaginable physical and mental hardships. Almost every chapter ends on a cliff-hanger (sometimes literally), and quotes from diaries and interviews, archival photos, and plenty of maps help audiences keep track of all the action. Copious chapter notes and an extended bibliography make this a great research resource, and multiple STEM applications—weather, geography, animals, navigation, nutrition, and just how much hardship the human body can stand—add to the appeal. Readers will come away with increased appreciation for what conditions are like on the south end of our planet, and a profound respect for the individuals who dare to go there. - Copyright 2020 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 05/01/2021 Gr 4–8—In 1911, teams led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and English naval officer Robert Falcon Scott raced one another to be first to the South Pole. More than a century later, American endurance athlete Colin O'Brady and another Englishman, army officer Louis Rudd, scrambled for the honor of finishing the first solo traverse of the Antarctic continent, unsupported and unassisted. In alternating chapters, engineer and STEM advocate Barone traces each of the campaigns, examining the personalities, training and preparation, often brutal challenges, and successes and failures of the men. Facing total whiteout conditions and temperatures sometimes exceeding -50 degrees Fahrenheit, all of the explorers confronted the limits of endurance, with Scott and two surviving colleagues ultimately succumbing to cold and starvation on the slog back from the pole, only 11 miles from a resupply depot. Blocks of text are unbroken except by embedded illustrations and the layout is plain, without any offsets or sidebar texts, making the book more appropriate for stronger readers. Plentiful photos vividly illustrate the striking polar desert terrain, as well as showcase the explorers and some of the gear required for enduring such an extreme climate. The volume concludes with a 10-page bibliography, including numerous books, articles, and websites, and more than 300 endnotes with source references. VERDICT A compelling narrative focused on science and technology, embedded in a cluster of thrilling adventure stories, this will be an easy sell for middle schoolers and many older elementary students. Highly recommended.—Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson M.S., Falls Church, VA - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
