I am not a sports person. I am not an outdoors person. I am not a hiking person. And I am certainly not a mountain climbing person. I am a person who will read a book outside (but it’s a porch and there better be running water/bathroom and cool drinks nearby). And I am a person who will read a book about someone who is an outdoors, sporty, mountain climbing person. And Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains by Anita Yasuda and illustrated by Yuko Shimizu fits that bill.
Now, while it is out, I did read this via an online reader copy and since it was in the middle of winter I read this, I was indoors, reading on my computer at lunch time reading. But the illustrations of Yasuda do give you a little outdoorsy feeling. They are colorful and bold. They are busy and detailed. Things are nice, give information and allow the reader to have support of the text. Things are straight forward, and since it is a picture book it is touching the surface of things, but you are not skimping on information. The best part of this book is that it is not just about a woman of color (she is from Japan), it is not just about a woman, it is not just about a mountain climber, but all those things and more. It is a piece of history for many different subjects and events.
I was not “wow best book ever” but I was enjoying it, would not mind finding more information on Tabei and I would A) read this again B) recommend it to almost everyone C) recommend it to almost all ages (it does run on the at least five and up level, but the illustrations do make for fun younger) and D) probably would purchase copies as gifts for multiple friends and family.