T. A. Barron is best known for his young adult fantasy novels. But he succeeds as a picture book author as well. Inspired by the true story of Harriet Peters' 1905 climb up Longs Peak with Enos Mills, founder of the Rocky Mountain National Park, Barron deftly recounts the climbing tale as he has imagined it. Although in his endnotes Barron admits to taking poetic license, he explains that Enos Mills' daughter and granddaughter supported his research, and that his story's historical basis is accurate.

Barron's first-person narrative feels authentic. Young Harriet shares her wonder, fear, exhaustion, and exhilaration with the reader. In a read-aloud session, listeners gasp when a herd of elk startle Harriet; they moan when Harriet escapes from snow, thunder, and lightening under a lip of rock. And best of all, they can't take their eyes off Ted Lewin's stunning illustrations. Taking his cues from a 1905 photo of Mills and Peters (Barron gives no clues as to who took the photo, included in the endnotes), Lewin's up-close images create light, movement, and emotion that give the book great impact.

From the Book:
Up, up, up. Steeper than my attic stairs! I slid on frosty grass and scraped both knees. Then I tried to hold on to a bush and got a fistful of thorns. At last I rested by a tree, breathing heavy as an old mule. My sides ached, my knees throbbed. Up ahead, Pa was coughing. Why couldn't Ma have picked something easier?