Nonfiction

This is a true adventure story of Ernest Henry Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance travel to the Antarctic. In 1908, Shackleton and his crew load up the ship Endurance and start out to be the first explorers to the South Pole. Norwegian whalers warned Shackleton that they had never seen the ice pack so far north as it had been that year. Still he pressed on heading into the southern ocean in early December, the beginning of the short summer in the Antarctic. The Endurance picked its way through ice and around glaciers until it was within 100 miles of the frozen continent. But the ice packed around the ship and froze it in place. The men were forced to winter there in the ship. Dog Town was created on the ice for the sled dogs and the men created dogloos out of packed snow and stiffened seal skins. The men hunted for penguins and seals to stock extra meat needed for the winter. When the thaw finally came the shifting ice claimed the Endurance and Sheckleton and his men were stranded on a pack of moving ice with no ship, only three life boats and their belongings.

Although they tried to traverse the ice, it was soon determined impossible and the men were to camp and wait for the pack to move them south. As the ice began to break apart it became time to launch the boats. The men fought wind, water and ice to try to get to Elephant Island, named because of the number of elephant seals on its rocky shores. Once on Elephant Island, it was clear that it was so desolate that someone needed to go for help, but the only reasonable course was 800 miles long. Shackleton and 5 of his men set out in a life boat as a relief team to head for a ship that could rescue the others. The first ten days proved to be difficult as storms and waves soaked the small boat and the men suffered from constant wetness and exposure. But when the gale broke, they were able to somewhat dry their belongings and learned they had made it over half way to their destination. The whaling stations were located on the northeast coast of South Georgia Island and they were approaching from the southwest. Sheckleton determined it was too risky to try to sail around the island and decided to make for the nearest shore. Once on shore the men were in such poor condition that it was necessary to spend several days in a cave to recover. Shackleton determined the best course to follow now was to make the 29-mile trip across the island on foot. Shackleton and two other men set out to make a three day journey across the island. The peaks reach 4,000 feet and the men had to slide down icy mountains and climb down a frozen waterfall but finally reached the whaling station.

This gripping story is filled with actual photographs taken by the ship's photographer and quotes from Shackleton and his men. The emotion of this story is beautifully conveyed through the prose and the photographs are a striking realization of the conditions. Boys and girls alike will be in awe of the physical and mental endurance of this crew. Reading like a good novel, this is a fascinating and easy to follow story.

This dramatic book follows Lewis Hine as he travels across the country taking haunting photographs of young children working in grueling jobs at canneries, laundries, mines, cotton fields and textile mills. The disturbing photographs were used by Hine to awaken society to the deplorable conditions and cruelty of child labor. Freedman's prose relates the story in a readable way and Hine's photographs look out from the pages and strengthen the human impact of the story. This book would be an enlightening tour for today's children through a much different time that was not too long ago.

This is an errie collection of unsolved mysteries that is fun and easy to read. The chapters are short and broken down by subjects which are listed on the Contents page. Simon recounts stories about it raining frogs and fish, big bangs in frozen Siberia, the ability to walk on fire, lost treasure, a ghost ship, a crystal skull, strange booms, photographing invisible forces and strange lights in the night. These creepy stories are told in a suspenseful way to leave the reader wondering and questioning about the unexplained. Simon offers the folklore explanations as well as scientific theories that have been developed to explain the mysteries, if they are available.

This fun, informative and easy to read book helps girls learn about the changes their body goes through during puberty and how to care for themselves. The Contents page of the book serves as a easy to follow guide to the topics which start with overall body basics like learning to listen to your body's needs, exercise, cleanliness and avoiding unhealthy habits like smoking or drug and alcohol use. The book starts at the head and covers every part of the body down to the feet. The first section Heads Up, talks about hair care and hair scares, like how to get gum out of your hair or handle dandruff. It also talks about eye health and glasses, oral hygiene, including braces care, face cleanliness and acne and sun protection. Each section provides this type of breakdown. Girls learn about shaving, periods, nutrition, sleep troubles and so on. The colorful artwork and short, to the point sections make the book easy to peruse. It is up to date and tastefully done. I would recommend this book for any young girl approaching puberty.