Born north of the Arctic Circle in 1893, Marie Ahnighito Peary published her own version of her youth in 1934 ("The Snowbaby's Own Story"), on which this book is based. Kirkpatrick's engaging text captures the girl's adventurous spirit and the opportunities that her father's life as an explorer presented, as well as her love of the North and her Inuit friends. Numerous black-and-white photos show the child growing up and pictures from the admiral's quest. A photo of four-month-old Marie reaching for a sunbeam her first experience of sunlight after the long Arctic nights especially poignant. It's impossible not to contrast the more staid images of traditional portraits with the lively candid shots of her at a ship's helm or standing with her Inuit friends dressed in animal skins. Children will relate to nine-year-old Marie's letter urging her father to stay home rather than go exploring again.