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"Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World", by Jennifer Armstrong , is the true story of Captain Shakelton’s voyage to Antarctica in l914. This is probably the most extraordinary account of survival that I have ever read! Twenty seven men overcame crisis after crisis, challenge after challenge, to survive in an area of the earth with extreme and unforgiving weather conditions.

When Captain Ernest Shakelton sailed from England with his crew of 26, he was attempting to become the first to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. But when his aptly named ship, "Endurance," became trapped in ice five months into the trip, it was the beginning of many obstacles that these men would need to overcome. Initially, they decided that they would wait out the winter until the ice could break up and they could continue their voyage. But it was not to be. The constant pressure of the ice pushing against the ship, along with the horrendous winds, with gusts up to 200 miles per hour, eventually began to make the ship buckle and break apart. The men camped on an ice floe for another 5 months waiting for the ice to break up so they could sail in their lifeboats across the open seas. Their plan was to head back from where they had started.
The long months on the ship, while it was locked in the ice, amazingly proved to be the easiest of the trials. While camping on the ice floe, they were constantly wet, hungry and always on the alert for the floe to break apart. There were many storms and high winds that were always shifting their camp. It was so cold and windy that the men’s eyes burned and teared-up constantly. As they described in their journals, "The tears would drip down our noses and form a small icicle which would break off, tearing off a bit of skin at the same time." Their only fresh meat consisted of seals and penguins and they continually suffered intestinal problems. Their hands had constant cuts from killing and cutting up these animals. They had many infections from the seal blood and they had no antibiotics. They were always wet and cold, especially when it was the high point of summer and they needed to find the open water. The ice was so slushy that they trudged very slowly in knee deep snow pulling the 3 lifeboats along with them. But after 600 miles of this painfully slow progression, through constant winds and storms, they finally reached the open seas.
Now, for the reader, you are on the edge of your seat as you read of trial after trial. But, you are only half way through this incredible saga as the misfortunes of these men are only just beginning. They still have to somehow cross the most violent seas on the face of the earth in 3 little wooden boats, sail through a hurricane and then track over land never before walked on in order to get to the nearest whaling station near the tip of South America. The toughest and hardest obstacles are yet to come. Even now, as I contemplate this exciting adventure, I am amazed with the fact that they all survived!
The other amazing fact about this book, that will entice anyone of any age into its story, are the pictures. The book contains actual photographs taken throughout this voyage and journey and they are interspersed throughout. From all of the water damage, the gale force winds, and the near drowning of just about everything they had, it’s amazing the photographic materials survived. This is one of those epic stories of survival and the triumph of the human spirit that will surely inspire a movie or documentary!

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Are you looking for a "sleepytime" book to lull your little buckaroo to sleep? "Cowboy Dreams", by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by Barry Root, is just the book for you, especially now that it stays lighter longer. The rhyming pattern on every page is just waiting for the reader to put a little tune to it. The soft hues of the colors fill every page and invite even the most reticent cowboy or cowgirl, to jump on a horse and head out West. This book is a must for every young cowpoke, guaranteeing to warm their hearts and encouraging their dreams of the old West!

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