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Ranger in Time #4
Race to the South Pole (Ranger in Time #4) by Kate Messner
Ranger, the time-traveling golden retriever with search-and-rescue training, is back! This time, he joins a dangerous expedition to the South Pole! Ranger, the time-traveling golden retriever with search-and-rescue training, joins an early twentieth-century expedition journeying from New Zealand to Antarctica. He befriends Jack Nin, the stowaway turned cabin boy of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's ship. They're racing against a rival explorer to reach the South Pole, but with unstable ice, killer whales, and raging blizzards, the journey turns into a race against time... and a struggle to stay alive.
Hardcover
First published July 1, 2016
79 people are currently reading
451 people want to read
About the author
Kate Messner
131 books1,652 followersKate Messner is an award-winning author, TED 2012 speaker, and former middle school English teacher. Her books for kids include THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.,SUGAR AND ICE, and EYE OF THE STORM (Walker/Bloomsbury Dec. 2010) the MARTY MCGUIRE series (Scholastic), SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY, and OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW (Chronicle, Books). Kate also wrote SPITFIRE and CHAMPLAIN AND THE SILENT ONE, both Lake Champlain historical novels published by North Country Books.
Kate lives with her family on Lake Champlain, where she loves to read, write, hike, swing on birch trees, and eat chocolate. She also hangs out in various places online.
Visit Kate's website: http://www.katemessner.com
Find Kate on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/KateMessner
...or follow her on Twitter - @katemessner
Kate lives with her family on Lake Champlain, where she loves to read, write, hike, swing on birch trees, and eat chocolate. She also hangs out in various places online.
Visit Kate's website: http://www.katemessner.com
Find Kate on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/KateMessner
...or follow her on Twitter - @katemessner
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
May 22, 2023
3.5 stars. We didn't like it as much as the Iceland one, but the end notes were amazingly good.
May 4, 2023
It’s embarrassing how much I liked reading this children’s book (actually the whole series if we’re being honest) with my 6 year old. Great for 6+ years old, easy way to incorporate history into homeschooling
August 28, 2017
Wouldn't grab the rest of the series for my kiddos.
January 30, 2022
I loved this book! I am going to read more from this series for sure. I read this for Antarctica 🇦🇶 in our Around the World 🌍 in 80 Days at the Library. It was such an enjoyable read.
March 9, 2022
Great kids adventure book. Probably great for grades 2-3! Realistic historical fiction.
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September 9, 2025Read with Tripp 9/25
March 21, 2023
Cute book
April 7, 2025
what a fun series!
October 18, 2016
Once again, Ranger sets off through time to help a young person in trouble. He arrives in time to save Jack Nin from drowning. As Ranger travels with Jack and the rest of Captain Scott's crew, he has not idea that he will see and experience things that few ever do, penguins, killer whales, nasty blizzards, and deep crevasses. But through it all Ranger travels by Jack's side wondering when he'll get to go home. I enjoyed traveling with Ranger and Jack as Jack learns for the first time just what being an adventurer means. For a long time he thinks that fame and fortune is what it's all about, but slowly he learns that maybe adventure isn't quite as much fun as he has always thought. Messner has done a great job of using details from accounts taken from some of those who actually traveled with Scott to create a believable story with lots of exciting details. Another fun read in an appealing series.
June 17, 2025
My grandson N. and I just finished reading Ranger in Time: Race to the South Pole. This was our first time reading a book from the Ranger in Time series, and I really enjoyed it. N. said it was “OK”—though he says that about most of the books he reads. Still, I think he liked it more than he let on because his mother mentioned he talked about it with her.
I had tried to convince him to start with the first book in the series, but he was more interested in Antarctica and penguins. I wasn’t going to complain—penguins are my favorite animal, and Antarctica is somewhere I wish I had the courage to visit. (One of my favorite books is Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, which also features Antarctica—and there’s a movie, too!)
N. especially loved that Ranger is a golden retriever, since that was the breed of his dog, Lucky, who sadly passed away last year. He said his favorite character was Ranger and his favorite part was when Ranger saved Jack. He also said the book made him feel scared because Jack was in a lot of dangerous situations.
My favorite part was when Jack realized that the real adventure was in the journey itself and the people he met—he didn’t need to reach the South Pole and risk his life or the lives of the other explorers.
This Ranger in Time book was a wonderful buddy read for my grandson and me. We both learned about Maori-Chinese culture in New Zealand, the challenges of an Antarctic expedition, and even what it would be like to travel across the icy continent with dog sleds. We also got a taste of time travel. But the biggest lessons came from the animals—some were scary, some were sad, and some were downright shocking.
I had tried to convince him to start with the first book in the series, but he was more interested in Antarctica and penguins. I wasn’t going to complain—penguins are my favorite animal, and Antarctica is somewhere I wish I had the courage to visit. (One of my favorite books is Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, which also features Antarctica—and there’s a movie, too!)
N. especially loved that Ranger is a golden retriever, since that was the breed of his dog, Lucky, who sadly passed away last year. He said his favorite character was Ranger and his favorite part was when Ranger saved Jack. He also said the book made him feel scared because Jack was in a lot of dangerous situations.
My favorite part was when Jack realized that the real adventure was in the journey itself and the people he met—he didn’t need to reach the South Pole and risk his life or the lives of the other explorers.
This Ranger in Time book was a wonderful buddy read for my grandson and me. We both learned about Maori-Chinese culture in New Zealand, the challenges of an Antarctic expedition, and even what it would be like to travel across the icy continent with dog sleds. We also got a taste of time travel. But the biggest lessons came from the animals—some were scary, some were sad, and some were downright shocking.
December 7, 2019
{My thoughts} – Ranger is a rather adventurous dog. I don’t think he means to be as brave as he is, but each time his first aid kit hums, he’s off on a new adventure. So far he’s traveled to many exciting places, I do believe my favorite so far has been in a previous book when he’d ended up in Rome!
In this book he winds up on a boat. It becomes clear to him that he needs to save and protect a young boy named Jack. Jack had a thirst for adventure and climbs aboard the vessel uninvited.
When Jack is discovered it because of a bad storm. He ends up helping the crew and earning his place as well as his keep. Ranger also helps a lot and earns his keep. Between the two of them they become a type of team and they make things work the next they can, given circumstances and situation.
There are many ups and downs in this book. If it weren’t for Ranger and his bravery I’m sure there wouldn’t be such a grand outcome.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I enjoyed the facts included about the South Pole as well. However, mostly I enjoyed reading about Ranger and Jacks story.
I look forward to reading more books in this series in the near future!
In this book he winds up on a boat. It becomes clear to him that he needs to save and protect a young boy named Jack. Jack had a thirst for adventure and climbs aboard the vessel uninvited.
When Jack is discovered it because of a bad storm. He ends up helping the crew and earning his place as well as his keep. Ranger also helps a lot and earns his keep. Between the two of them they become a type of team and they make things work the next they can, given circumstances and situation.
There are many ups and downs in this book. If it weren’t for Ranger and his bravery I’m sure there wouldn’t be such a grand outcome.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I enjoyed the facts included about the South Pole as well. However, mostly I enjoyed reading about Ranger and Jacks story.
I look forward to reading more books in this series in the near future!
January 26, 2019
Ranger in Time is a great chapter book series for young elementary students. Ranger, a dog, travels back in time and uses factual information to tell the story of a particular time in history. This particular book shares the adventures of Ranger and other characters as they make their way to the South Pole to become the first that has accomplished this task successfully. The adventure and suspense held my students attention and had them begging for more!
June 20, 2019
Ranger, the time-traveling golden retriever with search-and-rescue training, joins an early twentieth-century expedition journeying from New Zealand to Antarctica. He befriends Jack Nin, the stowaway turned cabin boy of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's ship. They're racing against a rival explorer to reach the South Pole, but with unstable ice, killer whales, and raging blizzards, the journey turns into a race against time... and a struggle to stay alive.
July 29, 2021
I love these books for use with my tutoring time. Kate Messner does a great job infusing (can I use that term) history, intrigue and excitement in her "Ranger" books. This is a wonderful read about a dog determined to help a young man who yearned for the excitement and thrills of adventure and exploring not unlike his grandfather. Does Ranger help yup and Jack (young man) learns a lot about himself and what exploring in Antartica really means. A good read.
November 16, 2017
Cute book. Read it to my 7 year-old son. I like historical fiction any day. I particularly liked this because of the time-traveling aspect and different setting (Antarctica). I'm looking forward to reading more in the series about Ranger, the time-traveling dog. Cute elementary fiction that isn't a total bore for me to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2021
Another loved book from Messner. This one I reduced to 4 stars because when Ranger goes home it seems odd. In other stories it seems natural for him to leave. In this one I am left wondering if the crew will try to find him before they board the ship? I know, kind of silly, but the end seemed more rushed. Another chapter of the journey home, even a short one would have been okay.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2021
Still loving this series, though this one was a little repetitive. How many different ways can a group of people almost die on the way to the South Pole? As usual, the author's notes are fascinating and reveal the depth of research she does before each book in order to make it as accurate as possible.
January 15, 2019
A time-traveling golden retriever? Yes, please!
Ranger the dog’s magical first aid kit sends him on Scott’s Antarctic expedition to keep a stowaway kid safe. Lots and lots of falling in crevasses. Good read for 1-2-3.
Ranger the dog’s magical first aid kit sends him on Scott’s Antarctic expedition to keep a stowaway kid safe. Lots and lots of falling in crevasses. Good read for 1-2-3.
September 23, 2020
Cute story for ages 7-10, with good tidbits about travel to the South Pole. It had some of the hard things about the journey, while still being age appropriate. The dog travels through time, which makes this series unique.
October 13, 2022
This installment stars a character with a particularly unique background, since he is half-Chinese and half-Maori. However, even though the cultural element was intriguing, the story was stressful, especially since it involved so many bad human decisions.
January 7, 2023
We usually like light and fluffy stuff. This book is good, but we had to have some deeper conversations in terms of life and fortitude. For an adult it was good, but was a little sad for a little one. We will read more. I gave it a four, my son a two. And evens out to a three.
June 17, 2017
I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you: http://www.indiebound.org
July 3, 2019
This book is for six and older.
March 10, 2020
I dressed as Ranger for dress like your favorite book character day!
November 3, 2020
This was a GOOD book! I would recommend this for 2nd-5th graders. You should read this!
June 8, 2021
I read this one of my second grade classes. They loved it.
July 12, 2021
The boy in this one was foolish and selfish, putting people and himself in danger though he did learn finally that there’s no place like home.
August 17, 2021
Turtle: great! Return to library.
September 7, 2021
Great adventure series for kids!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews