Antarctica – Journey to the Pole

Peter Lerangis's Journey to the Pole is a gripping Antarctic adventure for 11 year olds about two stepbrothers dragged into a secret race to the South Pole in 1909.

What happens

It's New York, and the British explorers Scott and Shackleton are both trying to be first to the Pole. Jack Winslow wants to beat them. He has a ship called the Mystery, a crew of rough and ready sailors and a very dodgy rich backer.

Then his wife dies of pneumonia, right at the start of the book. Jack wants to call the whole thing off. His backer has other ideas, and the upshot is that Jack's two boys are coming too.

The boys couldn't be more different. Andrew has read seven sailing manuals and can't wait to go. Colin, whose own mother died years ago, wants nothing to do with his father's obsession. And then there's Philip, the backer's snooty nephew from England, who is hiding a VERY big secret in the bottom of his trunk.

The chapters take turns between the three boys (and Jack), so you're always seeing the voyage through different eyes. None of the crew is told where they're really going until the ship reaches Buenos Aires! Do they all stay?

There are also thirty-five scruffy dogs with Greek names, a stowaway in the hold and a storm in the Drake Passage so wild that the boys end up brawling on deck while the sailors place bets.

It's a proper old-fashioned adventure, full of ropes and sails and wild seas. It also feels very real, because it's set in a real race, with real explorers talked about in the background.

A few things to know first. Grief is everywhere at the start, as the boys have both lost their mothers. The main characters are fifteen and sixteen, so older than your reader. Colin, who is part Inuit, has a racist insult shouted at him in the street in the first chapter. And there's some rough stuff along the way, like a fight outside a tavern and a lot of shouting and shoving on the ship.

If your reader is a confident ten-year-old who loves history and real danger, they'll be gripped. A more sensitive reader might want a lighter adventure first.

What to read next

Hooked on races to the bottom of the world? Try Brightstorm next. Twins Arthur and Maudie are left alone when their explorer father's expedition to the southernmost point doesn't come home.