To the Top of the World: Barbara Hillary, the First Black Woman to Reach the North and South Poles

At 75 years old, Barbara Hillary (1931–2019) traveled to the North Pole, and this celebratory picture book applauds the subject’s attitude, reiterating how she “lived in a world of you can, not you can’t.” Fast-forwarding through a childhood spent reading, the story begins in earnest after Hillary, retired after 55 years as a nurse, determines “to explore exotic worlds” she’d read about. Blumenthal’s laudatory text spotlights the figure’s grit as she raises funds and trains for her successful 2007 arctic journey, becoming the first Black woman to make the trip, and then travels to the South Pole in 2011, before devoting her final years to learning and lecturing about climate change—all the while continuing to “dream... learn... and plan” more trips. Magloire Williams’s realistic artwork energetically captures their subject’s resolve. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)