Jon Van Zyle

Really enjoyed the book! Great artwork. Nice telling of the story with a lot of details other books like to leave out. Obviously not as much details as The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic by Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisbury, but concise details that cover a lot. Before it seemed like all I heard about is Balta, and now it seems like there is a lot of books out there on Togo. This book puts the emphasis on more of the dogs and the people than show more either dog or on Seppala.

It mentions the 4 that died in the race. I am told you don't want to sled with dogs outside of -40 and +40, and some of dog teams still chose to go help even when it was below -40. For two of Charlie Evens dogs, the book says:
"In the struggle to save the lives of Nome's residents, these two dog would fall victim to the deadly weather."

The book also talks about how Balto and Fox lead Gunnar Kaasen's dogs, and in the details in the end how Fox was not mentioned because a reporter in Nome preferred the name 'Balto' as a dog name for his news story.

Good story to have youth read, or read to children. I think even the tough (but brief) parts where it mentions that dogs died is a good fact to discuss with children about risks and sacrifices sometimes needed. Artwork is great. Glad I have the book. show less

Really enjoyed the book! Great artwork. Nice telling of the story with a lot of details other books like to leave out. Obviously not as much details as The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic by Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisbury, but concise details that cover a lot. Before it seemed like all I heard about is Balta, and now it seems like there is a lot of books out there on Togo. This book puts the emphasis on more of the dogs and the people than show more either dog or on Seppala.

It mentions the 4 that died in the race. I am told you don't want to sled with dogs outside of -40 and 40, and some of dog teams still chose to go help even when it was below -40. For two of Charlie Evens dogs, the book says:
"In the struggle to save the lives of Nome's residents, these two dog would fall victim to the deadly weather."

The book also talks about how Balto and Fox lead Gunnar Kaasen's dogs, and in the details in the end how Fox was not mentioned because a reporter in Nome preferred the name 'Balto' as a dog name for his news story.

Good story to have youth read, or read to children. I think even the tough (but brief) parts where it mentions that dogs died is a good fact to discuss with children about risks and sacrifices sometimes needed. Artwork is great. Glad I have the book. show less

There are some nice moments of the day-to-day life of wolf pups, but the prose is overwrought even in those small moments, and goes way over the top when a little dramatic moment is thrown in at the end to make it seem like there is a story. The art is fine when it comes to the animals, but the artistic license taken with the size and color of the moon is just whackadoodle.

But wait? This is a sequel to the book I randomly chose to read next in the wolf picture book project, The Eyes of Gray show more Wolf? I did not know that going in. show less

Jonathan London book about the birth and travels of a baby sperm whale is an excellent informational book for preschool age children. The language is specific and factual, and still easy to read and understand. The language includes new vocabulary and follows a nice rhythm throughout the book. It also has fantastic life like illustrations of the sperm whales and other oceanic creates in the story. At the end of the story in the afterword it gives the reader more specific facts about the show more whales and a guide for teachers to use to help ensure that the readers receive the full benefit and knowledge that the story has to offer. show less