Ice Story: Shackleton's Lost Expedition

Kimmel's compelling account presents the arresting tale of Sir Ernest Shackleton's doomed 1914 expedition to traverse the continent of Antarctica, for a slightly younger audience than Jennifer Armstrong's Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World (Children's Forecasts, Jan. 25). Kimmel's chronicle contains considerably fewer anecdotes and journal excerpts than Armstrong's denser volume, yet the events of the shipwreck of the Endurance, the men's encampment on an ice pack and Shackleton's trek across South Georgia on foot, resulting in the survival of all 27 of his crew, are just as gripping here. Kimmel delves somewhat more deeply into Shackleton's personal life, fashioning a credible and affectionate portrait of this indefatigable explorer. The volume's relatively short chapters and strategic arrangement of photographs to break up blocks of text will make for smooth reading for kids on the younger edge of the intended audience. A deftly distilled recounting of an extraordinary story. Ages 8-12. (Feb.)