Book Review of The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jenkins, Steve. 1999. THE TOP OF THE WORLD: CLIMBING MOUNT EVEREST. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395942187    

 

PLOT SUMMARY

Mount Everest is highest point in the highest mountain range on earth. These mountains were formed by continental drift. Mount Everest is named for the leader of the first survey team to measure it. Native people called Sherpas help climbers attempt to climb the mountain. The first two known people to climb to the top of the mountain were Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary. It is possible that two British climbers may have climbed to the top before them, but they didn’t live to tell anyone. The first person to climb alone and without supplemental oxygen was Rheinhold Messner, considered by many to be the greatest mountaineer of all time. It is very difficult to complete the climb.            

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book has a wealth of information to share with the reader about Mount Everest. It provides both the geological and social history of the mountain. The story provides context for the reader in terms of global relationships as well as local specifics. As the narrative advances through the pages, readers are placed in the position of being potential mountaineers themselves. The supplies necessary to summit the mountain are listed and explained. The trek to get to the mountain is described. This is a good beginner book for understanding the highest mountain in the world. The artwork is images of paper collage.       

 

AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS

2000 ALSC NOTABLE CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD WINNER: “An informative introduction, remarkably illustrated in cut-paper collage, investigates the history, geography, climate and dangers of the world's tallest mountain.”

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “... story of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary and the separate journeys that led to their climbing the world’s highest mountain together.”

KIRKUS review: “A breathtaking picture-book account of a climb to the top of Mount Everest. Jenkins documents each step of the way with vivid crushed-paper and cut-paper collages that will rivet viewers.”

BOOKLIST review: “In preparation for the trek, Jenkins presents some background on Everest (including a brief comment on the ecological nightmare tourism has caused) and on some of the people who have scaled it.”

 

CONNECTIONS

* This is a great book to go along with studies of geography, plate tectonics, continental drift, Asia, mountaineering, Nepal, the Himalayas, sherpas, and other related topics.

* Books like this one:

Stewart, Alexandra. EVEREST: THE REMARKABLE STORY OF EDMUND HILLARY AND TENZING NORGAY. ISBN 9781526600769.

Kramer, Sydelle. TO THE TOP! CLIMBING THE WORLD’S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN. ISBN 9780679838852   

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