Race to the South Pole by Alexandra Stewart

Race to the South Pole

A Two-­sided Story

Alexandra Stewart

WW Norton · Print & ebook · October 14, 2025

Follow the stories of two men braving the extreme conditions of Antarctica in one historic race to reach the South Pole.

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Who it’s for
Follow Scott and Amundsen’s teams in a two-sided account of their race to the South Pole.
Themes
Polar exploration, Historic competition, Empathy and critical thinking
Genres
Exploration & Discovery, Polar Regions Stories, Survival Stories

About this book

Follow the stories of two men braving the extreme conditions of Antarctica in one historic race to reach the South Pole. In this uniquely designed, two-sided book, readers will find themselves on both sides of the world-famous race to the South Pole. Follow the stories of polar explorers Robert F. Scott and Roald Amundsen as they each lead their teams on a daring and gripping adventure to Antarctica.

Continue reading

In 1910, Captain Robert Falcon Scott and the team of the Terra Nova embarked on an intrepid journey to Antarctica. Their mission: to explore uncharted lands, carry out important scientific work, and become the first people to reach the South Pole. There was just one problem—Scott wasn’t the only one with his sights on the Pole! Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had spent his whole life dreaming of polar adventure. After narrowly missing the chance to be the first person to the North Pole, he was determined to win the race to the South. In this two-sided story, readers will follow one team’s journey before flipping the book to see things from the other side. This novel approach to storytelling encourages young readers to look at historic events from different perspectives, and to develop empathy and critical thinking as they face both triumph and tragedy in this remarkable true story. Children’s author Alexandra Stewart expertly weaves together history, natural history, and STEM into an engaging narrative-driven tale, brought to life with beautiful artwork by illustrator Sarah Wilkins. The result is a suspenseful true story that continues to resonate today.

Two Sides South

Follow Scott and Amundsen’s teams in a two-sided account of their race to the South Pole.

Come here for

  • Scott’s Terra Nova team and Amundsen’s team pursuing the South Pole
  • History, natural history, and STEM woven into a narrative

Expect

  • A book that flips between the two teams’ perspectives
  • A true story of Antarctic exploration, triumph, and tragedy

Where it sits

Polar Regions Stories87%
Survival Stories79%
Exploration & Discovery40%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Historical Biographies for Kids
  • Exploration & Discovery
  • Polar Regions
Authors
Alexandra Stewart
Publisher
WW Norton
Published
October 14, 2025
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Polar exploration · Historic competition · Empathy and critical thinking
Reading lane
Historical Biographies for Kids