FULL BOOK REVIEW

*ROCKY MOUNTAIN OUTLOOK 2009.01.29

Author captures mountain adventure
By Lynn Martel

In Jocey Asnong’s world, between the Nepalese villages of Lukla and Phakding there exists a jellybean spot.
Relating the story of how a brother and sister’s pair of “extraordinarily ridiculous” cats, Nuptse and Lhotse, spontaneously decide to visit the giant Himalayan mountain range that is home to two peaks bearing their names in her new children’s book, Nuptse & Lhotse in Nepal, Asnong reveals a remarkably vivid imagination and spectacular illustrative talents.
Singing “cat-man-doo, cat-man-doo,” the feline siblings explore the wonders of temples, monkeys, stupas, rickshaws and tuk tuks.
Equipped with a do and don’t list of things to carry in a backpack-warm jacket, first aid, sleeping bag, socks and long johns in the do category; a TV, piano, dress-up boots and heavy weights in the don’t-Nuptse and Lhotse head into the mountains.
Along the way, they share conversations that reveal facts about the history of the Sherpa people and their traditions, mountain sickness, monasteries and the landscape and geography of the Khumbu region.
They also share adventures and moments of fear and encouragement, as they cross a swinging suspension bridge being pursued by bounding, shaggy yaks and climb high onto Mount Everest’s slopes n snow that resembles a vanilla tuna fish sundae and butterscotch salmon sorbet, and nearly lose each other in a turbulent blizzard.
With bold, colourful and expressive illustrations, Asnong creates an exciting tale of adventure, friendship, caring and discovery that will engage children of a wide range of ages through primary and middle school.
No doubt the subject matter will appeal to Bow Valley children who are familiar with the mountain environment, as well as the activities of climbing and trekking, and even more specifically, the locally popular practice of visiting the distant but well-known world of the Nepalese Himalaya.
This book is likely to become a favourite among the Bow Valley schoolchildren, and also kids from all over North America who share an attraction to the adventures that can be found from not just climbing mountains, but visiting far-away places that are quite different from their own familiar everyday neighbourhoods.
As an added attraction for kids and the adults who help them read, the back pages of the book feature several dozen interesting facts listed in a whimsical fashion about the mountains Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse, and also appetizing tidbits about Nepal’s traditional foods, the Yeti, porters, monks, yaks and naks and the Nepalese and Tibetan names for Everest.
Not just a joy to read, Nuptse & Lhotse in Nepal is a wonderful salute to the people, the culture and the mountains of the Everest region. And to further show her appreciation for a place that she admits is near and dear to her heart, Canmore’s Asnong promises to donate five per cent of the profits from sales of her book to several organizations dedicated to protecting Nepal and the people who live there.
Nuptse & Lhotse in Nepal is published by 4th Floor Press. It can be purchased for $18.95 in the Bow Valley at Café Books, the Canmore Museum, Two Wolves Trading Co., the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies and the Banff Book & Art Den. For other locations, visit www.cautiousleroy.com
© Copyright (c) Rocky Mountain Outlook

*CANADIAN BOOKSELLER: The Magazine of Book Retailing Spring 2009
Nuptse and Lhotse featured in 'The Independent Handsellers List'