Togo

Now one of my favorite books for youth. Great drawings. Great story but told in a way that works to feel the danger and moments. I like the way dates are added for some of the days of the serum run. Well rounded way to cover the whole story. Nice facts in the end.

For the whole story, I would still recommend 'The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic,' but for children or to add to your other books on dogsledding I would highly recommend adding this one to your collection.

One last little note, when Togo is 8 months old and escapes to travel long miles to catch up with Leonhard through a blizzard, he cut his leg while escaping. This book doesn't mention that fact but does has a picture when Togo is show more reunited where his leg is bloody. Nice touch! I remember that fact from the book 'Togo and Leonhard.' show less

Now one of my favorite books for youth. Great drawings. Great story but told in a way that works to feel the danger and moments. I like the way dates are added for some of the days of the serum run. Well rounded way to cover the whole story. Nice facts in the end.

For the whole story, I would still recommend 'The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic,' but for children or to add to your other books on dogsledding I would highly recommend adding this one to your collection.

One last little note, when Togo is 8 months old and escapes to travel long miles to catch up with Leonhard through a blizzard, he cut his leg while escaping. This book doesn't mention that fact but does has a picture when Togo is show more reunited where his leg is bloody. Nice touch! I remember that fact from the book 'Togo and Leonhard.' show less

Well dang, I may or may not have cried my way through this book. 😭
Togo is a sassy puppy who leads a sled team to save children from diphtheria.
A very good boy.

"Togo" by Robert J. Blake is a beautifully illustrated story about the greatest Alaskan sled dog run there ever was. Based on a true story, this book is a dedicated to the real sled dog named Togo and his master Leonhard Seppala's heroic race to deliver a serum that was 350 miles away under blistering conditions in the winter of 1925.

In the Epilogue, the author writes that this run is commemorated annually by the Iditarod Race.

One way that Togo could be applied in the classroom is by teaching a lesson on the history of the Iditarod Race, then having students read this book as well one work of nonfiction to create and submit a research powerpoint on what they learned.

This book, has beautiful pictures in it. I really liked the part where Togo lead his team. Togo is a Siberion Husky. Togo was the lead sled dog of Leonhard Seppala and his dog/Siberion Husky sled team in the 1925 serum run to Nome across central and northern Alaska. This was made into a movie called Balto. Unfortunately, the cartoon doesn't show Togo's part of the run only Balto's. If you really liked this book you can check out the movie "Balto." I had never really heard of Togo till January 4th, 2013.

Balto (another dog) was lionized and a statue made of him in Central Park. He was the subject of a Disney movie. All this conspired to overshadow the, in my opinion, true dog hero of the serum run - Leonhard Seppala's Togo. Though this is fiction, it does somewhat set the record straight.

-Historical Fiction: Picture Book Alaska, Sled Dog, Serum Run, Endurance, Heroism
-Blake, Robert. Togo Illus by Robert Blake. Philomel Books, 2002, Unp, Primary, Intermediate.

-This story follows Togo, the sled dog who led his team through a perilous journey across Alaska during part of the 1925 serum run to Nome. Through realistically painted illustrations and compelling narrative, Blake captures the rugged intenseness of the Alaskan wilderness and the bravery of Togo and his musher, Leonhard Seppala.
-Keywords: Alaska, Sled Dog, Serum, Diphtheria, Antitoxin, Siberian Husky
-Activity: Have students research the 1925 serum run and create a timeline of the events. Then, have students share and compare timelines with each other.