Robert Burleigh pays tribute to the man who climbed with Edmund Hillary to the top of Mt. Everest. Tenzing Norgay grew up in the shadow of Everest and not only dreamed of being the first to ascend the mountain, he practiced for it. “He who carried stones in his knapsack, / Who stole off to fabled Katmandu, / . . . Unlocked the secrets of the climber’s rope, / Studied the lore of the axe, / And apprenticed himself to death and danger.” Norgay and Hillary made the legendary first ascent together. Burleigh’s poem captures the intensity of Norgay’s determination and the drama of the climb in lines that are paced to suggest the deliberate, breathless effort of each and every step. Ed Young’s snow-swirled paintings are alight with nature’s beauty. (Ages 9–14)