Shackleton and the Lost Antarctic Expedition

Graphic Library Disasters in History

by Blake Hoena, Charles Barnett III (Illustrator), Dave Hoover (Illustrator)

Tells the story of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton and his failed attempt to cross the coldest and windiest continent on earth. Written in graphic-novel format.

Genres: History, Graphic Novels, Adventure

32 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

Blake A. Hoena grew up in central Wisconsin, where, in his youth, he wrote stories about robots conquering the Moon and trolls lumbering around in the woods behind his parents house, and the fact that the trolls were hunting for little boys had nothing to do with Blake’s pesky brothers. Later, he moved to Minnesota to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Since graduating, Blake has written more than thirty books for children, including retellings of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Perseus and Medusa myth. Most recently, he’s working on a series of graphic novels about two space alien brothers, Eek and Ack, who are determined to conquer our big blue home.

--from the author's website

Reviews

[C.G.Koens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of history here, and gets four stars because it's a little more child friendly since no one dies (not that the author had any control over that historical fact!). Again, this was an event that I knew of, but knew very little about, so I learned some basic facts from reading it, and wouldn't hesitate to include this when studying that period of time with the kids.

[Sheri S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - This is one of my favorite stories in history. The book does a good job of covering the basics of the story and portrays Shackleton as an admirable leader.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good starter book on the Shackleton Endurance expedition.

[Diana Gagliardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had missed that this was a "Disasters of History" book and was surprised at all that went wrong!

Great quick overview of the situation, amazing that they survived to tell the tale!

Enjoy!

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic novel format for a biography. Shackleton went on his first arctic expedition in 1901 with Robert Scott trying to reach the South Pole. In 1907 Shackleton led his own team and came close to reaching the South Pole.
I liked that the graphic novel had squares with Ariel typeface that were the text taken from the actual logs of the expedition. The cartoon "bubbles had the GN text. The pictures were appropriate and I found the story easy to follow and credible. There was a timeline in the back as well as an index. I feel the students will like this graphic novel format for a biography.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is agraphic-story approach to retelling of the history of the lost Shackleton Expedition. It is one of multiple titles by Capstone Press aimed at making history accessible while accurate. It is vetted by history/library experts and includes direct quotations from primary sources sited on the credits pages. Back matter includes additional text-only bulleted notes, glossary, internet sites, bibliography, index, and suggested further readings.

[ICT Technician]

3357