Tag Archives: history

The Indestructible Tom Crean: Heroic Explorer of the Antarctic

Posted on by

by Jennifer Thermes

This is the incredible story of the life of Tom Crean, an explorer in the Antarctic during the ‘golden age’ of exploration in that area. He was part of three expeditions to the Antarctic, two with Robert Scott and one with Ernest Shackleton. His first trips were with Captain Scott – one on the Discovery to set up camps and later on the Terra Nova, Scott’s final ill-fated voyage. This expedition was a race to the South Pole which ended with Scott and two men dying and Tom saving the lives of two others by hiking thirty five miles back to base camp for help. Tom joined Ernest Shackleton on his exploration of Antarctica aboard the Endurance, which was crushed by ice and sank, leaving the crew stranded. They hunkered down on Elephant Island and Shackleton chose five men (including Tom) to accompany him in a small lifeboat to South Georgia Island where there was a whaling station. This island was over 800 miles away through strong seas and winds. But, they had not choice. They made it to the island and Shackleton, Tom and one other man hiked over the mountains to the whaling station. Because of their bravery, ALL the sailors from the Endurance were rescued. Tom then spent several years in the Navy and retired to Ireland. He was a quiet and humble man, who was a brave hero.

An afterward gives more details along with a timeline and additional resources. A map on the front endpapers and illustrations of Antarctic animals on the back endpapers add to the wealth of information.

This book is a true gem. While the focus of many books are on the leaders of these expeditions, Scott and Shackleton, there were truly brave men that accomplished great things alongside them. Tom’s story needs to be shared and Jennifer Thermes has created a beautiful piece that will enthrall the readers. Told in present tense and illustrated in colored pencil and watercolor, this book needs to be on library shelves everywhere. Interestingly, I shared this book with a Falkland Islander and folks there are very well aware of Tom Crean’s story and he felt that the book was a good representation of his life.

The Great Stink, How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem. Colleen Paeff and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

Posted on by

This is a humorous and informative picture book which tells the story of Joseph Bazalgette, a 19th century engineer who designed London’s first sewage system. This greatly reduced the Cholera breakout and subsequent deaths caused by the open sewers of the city. He is credited with being one of the most effective engineers connected with the country of England, while changing the course of history. This book would make a nice addition to an elementary library.

Rock by Rock, The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand. By Jennifer Bradbury and illustrated by Sam Boughton.

Posted on by

A delightful and true story of a remarkable man named Nek Chand who was victim of the Indian and Pakistani partition of the late 1940s. He and his boyhood family were forced to relocate from Pakistan to India during a government order to separate Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. Within two years after the forced move his parents died, primarily of heartbreak, as Nek recounts, “Partition devoured them.” Nek grieved his parents, his childhood village, and his former life, as a million other Hindus were doing the same.

Nek then turned the energy of grief into productive, artistic energy. He began to build, clear, and create a beautiful space in the forest just outside his new village of Chandigarh, India. He collected cast-off materials, such as: rocks. bottles, scrap metal, glass, ceramic shards, ect. and arranged them into works of art. Soon, others discovered his secret! The village people loved it, but the city had plans for a road to be placed through his artwork. After much consternation the city decides to go through with their plan to demolish the work until the towns folk, including children, create a human chain to protect the garden. And now an estimated 5,000 people daily, from all over the world, visit Nek’s Rock Garden.