SHIPWRECK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Armstrong, Jennifer. 1998. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World. New York, NY: Crown. ISBN 0517800136

2. PLOT SUMMARY

In 1914 an expedition set sail from England and headed towards Antarctica. The men on board, led by Ernest Shackelton were planning on being the first in the world to cross Antarctica. However, their journey did not go as planned. The brave men got stuck in ice flows and were never able to make it the continent. Their boat drifted with the flows until getting crushed and eventually sinking. This is the story of what happened to those brave men and how they survived the treacherous cold and beat all odds to make it out of there alive.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Jennifer Armstrong’s story like writing style and descriptive details both add to the appeal of this book. Readers are easily able to get the sense of what it was like to be a crew member aboard the Endurance during the tough times they experienced in the frozen ice flows of Antarctica. Crew members’ personalities are brought out as they are described and we get to see the camaraderie and the lengths they went to entertain themselves. “Some of the men tried to create some excitement for the biologist, Robert Clark, by putting some pieces of cooked spaghetti into one of his specimen bottles of ocean water.” The photographs in the book, actually taken by the expedition’s photographer only serve to enhance the mental image readers create when reading this story.

Drawings of the ship and maps of the route taken also enhance readers’ understanding of the harrowing journey. Readers are easily able to find specific points that they would like to reference by referring to the table of contents and the index. Readers are also able to learn more about the expedition by referencing the bibliography.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
ORBIS PICTUS Award Winner

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: "A book that will capture the attention and imagination of any reader."

KIRKUS review: “This unbelievable story is enhanced by the vigorous prose; from the captivating introduction through the epilogue, it is the writing as much as the story that will rivet readers.”

5. CONNECTIONS

Have students research other famous Antarctic Expeditions

Have students create a play based on the story

Other books by Jennifer Armstrong:

Armstrong, Jennifer. Photo by Brady: A Picture of the Civil War. ISBN 0689857853