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Trapped by the Ice!: Shackleton's Amazing Antarctic Adventure
Describes the events of the 1914 Shackleton Antarctic expedition when, after being trapped in a frozen sea for nine months, the expedition ship, the Endurance, was finally crushed and Shackleton and his men made the very long and perilous journey across ice and stormy seas to reach inhabited land.
40 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1997
About the author
Michael McCurdy
74 books4 followersMichael McCurdy was an American illustrator, author, and publisher. He illustrated over 200 books in his career, including ten that he authored. Most were illustrated with his trademark black and white wood engravings, with occasional color illustrations. His illustrations often have historical or natural themes.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 12, 2022
“Trapped” is beautiful visually. I found myself just going back and staring at the pictures in white, blue, green, mauve and turquoise. Just looking at those frozen wastes makes you feel cold.
It’s 34 pages long with about one paragraph every other page. Given that the entire journey from the time the Endurance gets trapped in the pack-ice around Antarctica to the day the last man is successfully rescued was the best part of a year, the brief text on each double-page illustration is a clever way of not making the whole thing a bore with not much happening.
Since several reviewers mentioned the difficulty of the vocabulary, I scanned the book for a sample of the hardest words for a child to read: terrain, impassable, rancid, exhausting, accomplished, preparations, miraculously, dehydration. A typical sentence would be: “Graybeards are monstrous waves that come quietly and quickly, threatening everything in their path.”
It’s 34 pages long with about one paragraph every other page. Given that the entire journey from the time the Endurance gets trapped in the pack-ice around Antarctica to the day the last man is successfully rescued was the best part of a year, the brief text on each double-page illustration is a clever way of not making the whole thing a bore with not much happening.
Since several reviewers mentioned the difficulty of the vocabulary, I scanned the book for a sample of the hardest words for a child to read: terrain, impassable, rancid, exhausting, accomplished, preparations, miraculously, dehydration. A typical sentence would be: “Graybeards are monstrous waves that come quietly and quickly, threatening everything in their path.”
September 5, 2022
The miraculous and true adventure of Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic explorer, and his third voyage to the Antarctic. Full of danger, adventure, grit and perseverance - this picture book kept my third graders on the edge of their seats.
October 15, 2018
We read this after watching the documentary film "Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance" and have been fascinated by this expedition. This was a good retelling with beautiful illustrations. Very exciting!
May 30, 2019
This book is really long and rather intense (he basically walks around Antarctica for months trying to find people who can take a ship to rescue the rest of his crew...) That said, P asked me to read it a billion times in its entirety so... five stars it is!
April 16, 2020
Introduced a fascinating feat of human survival in the harshest environment on the planet. Diary entry style was a little dry with difficult vocabulary.
July 29, 2015
On Oct. 27, 1915, Sir Ernest Shackleton had to abandon his ship, the Endurance, and his plan to sled all the way across Antarctica because the ship was destroyed after having become trapped in ice. The complete story of how Shackleton and his entire crew survived and were rescued is told for older readers in Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. The early days of the voyage and confinement on ship are recounted for a slightly younger set from the perspective of the ship’s cat in Mrs. Chippy’s Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton’s Polar-Bound Cat by Caroline Alexander.
Alexander’s account ends on Oct. 29, when Mrs. Chippy perished, and Trapped by the Ice! basically picks up the tale for beginning readers at that point and carries it on through their survival on the ice, the crew’s voyage on the three small boats to uninhabited Elephant Island, Shackleton’s further voyage to the whaling station on South Georgia Island arriving on May 20, 1916, and their ultimate rescue without the loss of any human life. The narration is illustrated with realistic paintings of landscapes, ice, and ocean, based on stills taken by Shackleton’s photographer. It is a good introduction for kids to Shackleton’s expedition, skipping some of the details that might not be of interest to them.
Alexander’s account ends on Oct. 29, when Mrs. Chippy perished, and Trapped by the Ice! basically picks up the tale for beginning readers at that point and carries it on through their survival on the ice, the crew’s voyage on the three small boats to uninhabited Elephant Island, Shackleton’s further voyage to the whaling station on South Georgia Island arriving on May 20, 1916, and their ultimate rescue without the loss of any human life. The narration is illustrated with realistic paintings of landscapes, ice, and ocean, based on stills taken by Shackleton’s photographer. It is a good introduction for kids to Shackleton’s expedition, skipping some of the details that might not be of interest to them.
November 10, 2010
A thrilling account of Shackleton's expedition to the South Pole that includes some really nice illustrations. Kids should enjoy it! I just wonder about the audience. By appearances, the book looks like it's for second and third graders; yet, the subject matter and prose are more suited to fourth and fifth graders. This would probably be a great book for ELL students and struggling readers in middle school.
December 11, 2010
Fascinating story.
December 23, 2015
Previewing for my 5th grade boys. Seven month Antarctic adventure. Quick, picture book, but harder vocabulary
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April 20, 2017HI
February 22, 2018
Well told tale!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews