Friday, May 28, 2010

29th May Tenzing Norgay (1914 - 1986)


Tenzing Norgay was born late in May in 1914 but after his ascent of Mount Everest with Edmund Hilary on 29th May, 1953 he decided to celebrate his birthday on the 29th. So today is the anniversary of the first successful ascent on Everest. Norgay was the sherpa who accompanied New Zealander Hilary to the summit and subsequently became famous in his own right.

In the library there is a beautiful picture book biography of Tenzing called Tiger of the Snows by Robert Burleigh. It is written in poetry and tells of the climb and Tenzing's childhood in a very laudatory manner. It is accompanied by blue and purple pastel illustrations which are done on black backgrounds. These atmospheric illustrations by Ed Young capture the grandeur of the mountains and the wonder of what the men achieved. If you do not have this book in your library perhaps you have I Wish I'd Stood on Everest by Leonie Young. This picture book is part of the Been There Done That series where Leonie Young writes about famous people and how they achieved their dreams.

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