From the inside cover: "Reaching the South Pole was only one of Amundsen's many feats. He was the first to navigate the Northwest Passage, and with an American, Lincoln Ellsworth, the first to map the North Polar Seas from the air. Courageous, determined, indomitable, Amundsen was at his best in an emergency. Aground on an Arctic rock, downed on the ice in a wrecked place, Amundsen never despaired. Instead he set to work immediately to save his expedition. Roald Amundsen was one of the world's bravest explorerers."

An easy read for a third grader, this biography of Roald Amundsen highlights the childhood and major events in the life of this explorer. The illustrations are average, neither disappointing nor exciting. Nevertheless, the pictures do contribute to the success of the book. The story is itself a good one, and my son enjoyed reading of how Amundsen's careful planning enabled him to be the first man to reach the south pole. This series is a fine one, especially for boys who are getting too many sweet stories in school. It is worth checking out from a library or hunting down used copies to purchase.