In her time, Alexandra David-Neel was the most famous woman in France. She had traveled extensively in China and Tibet and, in 1924, was the first Western woman ever to enter Tibet’s forbidden capital, Lhasa. Alexandra was a self-taught Buddhist scholar and spoke Tibetan flawlessly. And she did it all as a mature woman—she was in her mid-fifties when she arrived in Lhasa.
Not only is Alexandra David-Neel’s story one of high adventure, of trekking through snow-choked mountain passes and wild encounters on the Tibetan tablelands, but it is also about a prolific writer and passionate advocate of Tibetan culture. Far Beyond the Garden Gate reveals an unforgettable life’s journey with vibrant, graceful prose and stunning illustrations.
About the Author
Don Brown
Don Brown is the YALSA excellence in nonfiction and Sibert Honor award-winning author and illustrator of many nonfiction graphic novels for teens and picture book biographies. He has been widely praised for his resonant storytelling and his delicate watercolor paintings that evoke the excitement, humor, pain, and joy of lives lived with passion. School Library Journal has called him "a current pacesetter who has put the finishing touches on the standards for storyographies." He lives in New York with his family.www.booksbybrown.comInstagram: @donsart
Excerpts
Reviews
"Brown combines succinct language, dramatic storytelling, and beautiful, spare watercolor art to describe his subject’s remarkable life… Brown perfectly balances his atmospheric words and pictures in an exciting account." Booklist, ALA, Boxed Review
"Even now, children mostly seem to hear about wild adventure as the purview of men and boys: to have Don Brown's series is a bracing antidote to that misconception. Brown's signature watercolors are impressionistic, almost calligraphic. Heady, powerful stuff." Kirkus Reviews
"Brown's present-tense narrative uses simple but riveting language, and, as in his previous biographies, he interjects the subject's own words to further dramatize the story... What encouragement to readers to find their own way 'beyond the garden gate.'" Horn Book
“[Brown’s] work appears regularly in the biography section of elementary-school libraries because of his apt choice of subject matter and his eye for telling detail…Open the book to see why Brown is popular in schools.” The New York Times Book Review
“A welcome edition to most collections.” School Library Journal