What is it like to live in the shadow of a mountain called Goddess of the Sky and Goddess Mother of the World? This sacred land between Nepal and Tibet is home to the Sherpa who are known as the Tigers of the Snow "because of their rugged strength and bravery." Imagine being at home at an altitude of 19,000 feet where most of us would struggle to breathe the thin air.
Using photographs and bright colorful maps and graphs, this travelogue takes us into the culture of these amazing people and shares their ability to adapt, their life as traders, and goes beyond to show the animals, the geography, the habitat and the amazing courage that these people offer as guides for those who try to conquer the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest.
The mystic feel of this world is present in the descriptions of their religious connection to the natural world and their concern for caring for what the Goddess has given them. They are the "spiritual caretakers" of the mountains and "these people and their culture are the mountain's most important legacy, its hope for the future, and its most precious gift to the world." Prepare for a journey to the highest places.
Recommended by: Barb
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“Although mountains belong to the nation, mountains really belong to the people who love them.” These words from thirteenth-century Zen Master Dogen truly describe Everest, a mountain whose name conjures up images of snow-capped peaks, Sherpa guides, and adventurers whose life’s desire has been to conquer this highest mountain.
Author Taylor-Butler takes readers on a wondrous trip to a mountain and a people who have lived in respect for its gifts since time out of mind. Meet the Sherpa, a people whose very bodies have become one with the mountain: they are physically adapted to living in the extreme, high-altitude, harsh climate. These amazing people have guided many explorers up the mountain—although some of the explorers have not come down.
Beautiful color photographs place readers at the foot of the mountain and up the trail as they learn, through pictures and words, what is so special about Everest and the culture of the mountain people who revere it. Use this book for background information when reading books such as Peak, by Roland Smith.
Recommended by Shari Shaw, Librarian, Michigan USA
