Bloomsbury

May 2019

ISBN:	9781526600769
Imprint:	Bloomsbury Children’s Books

RRP: $24.99

As a child of the 50s the names of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were as familiar to me as the names of my friends. Though I was born a few years after their remarkable expedition their names still resounded around the globe. The modest beekeeper from New Zealand and his local Sherpa guide had done the near-impossible. They had claimed victory over Everest and their achievement had become legend.

Timed perfectly to commemorate the centenary of Hillary’s birth this big, bold, beautiful book will bring this inspirational story to a new generation of children. The foreword is written by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, arguably the only modern adventurer to match the achievement of these two but it is the stunning presentation that will totally captivate young readers.

Exploring their early lives, the lead up and of course the ultimate arduous and dangerous trek to the summit in 1953, the text is sectioned in manageable passages which are beautifully illustrated – with (dare I say it?) the cutest possible images. They just have so much kid-appeal that they are irresistible.

Everest was – and still is – the repository of lost hopes and tragedy but for these two unassuming men, their doggedness and ambition overcame all obstacles.

It is without a doubt the story of one of the most heroic adventures of our modern history and one which deserves to be re-told.

Readers from around ten years upwards will love this and also be inspired by these two amazing individuals. Teacher notes are available on the publisher’s website.

I highly recommend it particularly if your upper primary/lower secondary students have a unit on inspirational individuals.