Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains

Anita Yasuda’s evocative picture book biography about Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Everest, is equal parts grit and grace. Dazzlingly illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Yuko Shimizu.

Junko Tabei dreamed of a life climbing mountains. But men refused to climb with her. Sponsors told her to stay home. And gloves were not made to fit her hands. Eager and unstoppable, Junko wouldn’t let these obstacles get in her way.

Instead, she planned an expedition to summit Mount Everest with an all-women team. Battling icy peaks, deep crevasses, and even an avalanche, Junko refused to give up. She climbed step by step . . . up, up, ever up!

After summiting the world’s tallest peak, Junko took on a new challenge: protecting the wild spaces she loved for future generations.

This gorgeously illustrated celebration of a trailblazing climber who shattered gender stereotypes invites us to dare to reach our dreams—no matter how big.

Anita Yasuda is a children's author. She is passionate about sharing stories of people making a difference. She spent many years as an early childhood educator and a bilingual storyteller (English and Japanese). Anita graduated from the University of Toronto. She is based in Ontario, Canada.

Yuko Shimizu is a multi-award-winning Japanese illustrator based in New York City. She is an instructor at the School of Visual Arts and has almost twenty years of experience illustrating. She is the illustrator of the Caldecott Honor–winning picture book The Cat Man of Aleppo.