My Denali: Exploring Alaska's Favorite National Park

A day's hike through Alaska's Denali National Park serves as the foundation for this handsome photo-essay celebrating the tundra. Writing with her mother, 12-year-old Hannah Corral narrates the adventure, integrating into her account of the day's events relevant facts, reminiscences and other personal touches. The text gracefully evokes the pastoral drama, from the delicate haze of wildflower fields to the cloudless beauty of Mt. McKinley (``cotton-candy pink with alpenglow''). However, the authors do not prettify the wilderness. Hanna, for example, recalls her horror upon witnessing a grizzly's capture of a moose's calf (``Denali stays wild because of life-and-death struggles between predator and prey,'' her mother tells her). Roy Corral, formerly the photo editor at Alaska magazine, supplies stunning photographs, intimate portraits of wildlife as well as majestic landscapes that capture his family in the vast scale of nature. Photos, observations and natural history tips flow together in an easy, welcoming rhythm. Ages 10-up. (Nov.)