Description

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Through haiku, a young boy narrates his family’s invigorating hike to the peak of Oregon’s South Sister volcano.

For centuries, haiku has offered meditation on the grace and majesty of nature. In Climbing the Volcano, old meets new as a young protagonist uses the poetic form to voice his wonder. Trekking uphill, the family encounters tiny toads, colorful butterflies, soaring birds of prey, and so much more to see, do, and feel. 

dormant volcano—
but at sunrise each day
it blazes

Climbing the Volcano is a call to adventure in the natural world, and a wonderful introduction to poetic forms. Young readers will be inspired to summit their own peaks and to find their own voices to share what they discover there. Whether you live in the shadow of a volcano, amid sprawling flatlands, or anywhere in between, Climbing the Volcano invites you to get out there and explore. 

Jennifer K. Mann’s breezy, childlike artwork harmonizes with Curtis Manley’s poetry to detail this mesmerizing Pacific Northwest journey.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

About the Author

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Curtis Manley’s previous picture books include The Rescuer of Tiny Creatures, Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet, Shawn Loves Sharks, and The Crane Girl. His work has received a number of awards, among them a Nautilus Book Award, an SCBWI Golden Kite Honor, and a Science Communication Award from the American Institute of Physics. Curtis lives near Seattle with his wife, daughter, and cat.

Jennifer K. Mann is a prolific author and illustrator of books for children. Her book The Camping Trip received four starred reviews and was named an ALSC Notable Book, a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, and an SCBWI Golden Kite Award finalist, among many other honors; she is also the illustrator of Alison James’s Maple and Rosemary. She resides on the Puget Sound’s Bainbridge Island with her husband, two children, six chickens, a cat and a dog.

Praise For…

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★ "Mann's colorful mixed-media artwork captures the majesty of the Cascade Mountain range. . . This makes a great read-aloud or prelude to a family adventure."—Booklist, Starred Review

★ "Mann’s mixed-media illustrations work effectively in tandem with the haiku narration. . . ."—The Horn Book, Starred Review

"A small quest, told in a short-poem form that has a wide-ranging impact, this one little volume can be used and enjoyed in so many ways."—School Library Journal

"Fragments of beauty and knowledge echo the fleeting nature of encounters with life in the wild, and readers share the young hiker’s sense of triumph at having taken on an impressive expedition that feels well within the realm of the possible."—Publishers Weekly

"Fresh and vivid. "—Kirkus Reviews