HIGH AS A HAWK

Enos Mills fought hard to make a national park of the majestic mountains like Longs Peak in Colorado. In 1905, he was guide to eight-year-old Harriet Peters, who became the youngest person to reach Longs Peak’s 14,255-foot summit. Her dramatic story is told in the first person, captured by Lewin’s equally dramatic and splendid watercolors. Harriet wanted to reach the summit to honor her dead mother, who had longed to climb it. Lewin is a master of light and dark, wide vistas and intimate close-ups. We see every exquisite detail of tree and mountain, elk and snow. Sturdy Harriet describes the “surprises” along the way of weather and the elements, but the last image shows her with arms outspread like the hawk almost beside her. Harriet’s unusual (to us) costume of leggings, skirt, and puffy bonnet is documented in the photograph of her and Mills that’s included in the author’s note. A fine, unusual, and inspiring read. (Picture book. 6-9)