From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-Hot on the heels of Robert J. Blake's Togo (Philomel, 2002) comes another version of the story of the relay race across Alaska to save the people of Nome from an outbreak of diphtheria in 1925. While Blake focuses on one particular dog, Miller tells the more complete tale, beginning with the first dying children and including all of the details of carrying the serum from Anchorage, 1000 miles from its destination. The conditions were terrible as dog teams and mushers dealt with all sorts of problems caused by temperatures as low as 64 degrees below zero. Much of the story focuses on Leonhard Seppala, the musher who owned Togo, Balto, and many other sled dogs. Included are a list of the mushers who participated in the relay, additional information on the dogs that ran, brief information on the Iditarod, a trail map, and photographs of Seppala and Togo. Van Zyle, official artist of the Iditarod and a musher himself, has created vivid, full-spread paintings to bring the story to life. This book does not have the intensity of storytelling or art that is found in Togo, but for children whose interest is piqued by Blake's book, or for older readers, this is an excellent account told with lots of detail and drama.Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FLCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. This picture book for older children tells the full story of the legendary 1925 race to Nome, Alaska, to deliver diphtheria antitoxin serum. The run was actually a relay, completed by many mushers and teams (a chart showing the name of the musher and the distance covered is included in the back of the book), although a dog named Balto seems to have the best press agent; his participation in the race is memorialized with a statue in Central Park and a feature-length movie. There's a lot of text here, but Miller's telling is exciting, and her details are compelling. Particularly outstanding are Van Zyle's acrylic-on-Masonite illustrations that perfectly capture the icy chill and dim light of the Arctic. Simply put, each scene in the double-page spreads looks damn cold. Back matter describes what happened to some of the dogs that helped deliver the serum and explains how the serum run became the basis for the Iditarod. For more history about the race, suggest also Lew Freedman's Father of the Iditarod (1999). Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Great Serum Race: Blazing the Iditarod Trail ANNOTATION
The story of the heroic role played by sled dogs, including the Siberian husky Togo, in the delivery of antitoxin serum to those stricken with diphtheria in 1925 Nome. Includes historical notes about the event as well as about the Iditarod Sled Dog Race which commemorates it.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Ride shotgun with the heroic mushers whose bravery inspired the Iditarod.In the winter of 1925, Nome, Alaska, was hit by an unexpected and deadly outbreak of diphtheria. Officials immediately quarantined the town, but the only cure for the community of more than 1,400 people was antitoxin serum and the nearest supply was in Anchorage—hundreds of miles of snowbound wilderness away. The only way to get it to Nome was by dogsled. Twenty teams braved subzero temperatures and blizzard conditions to run over 600 miles in six days in a desperate relay race that saved the people of Nome. Several of the dogs, including Togo and Balto, became national heroes. Today their efforts, and those of the courageous mushers, are commemorated every March by the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Author Biography: Jon Van Zyle's stunning oil paintings capture the brutal conditions, pristine wilderness, and sheer guts and determination demonstrated by the heroic mushers and dogs.
FROM THE CRITICS
School Library Journal
Gr 3-6-Hot on the heels of Robert J. Blake's Togo (Philomel, 2002) comes another version of the story of the relay race across Alaska to save the people of Nome from an outbreak of diphtheria in 1925. While Blake focuses on one particular dog, Miller tells the more complete tale, beginning with the first dying children and including all of the details of carrying the serum from Anchorage, 1000 miles from its destination. The conditions were terrible as dog teams and mushers dealt with all sorts of problems caused by temperatures as low as 64 degrees below zero. Much of the story focuses on Leonhard Seppala, the musher who owned Togo, Balto, and many other sled dogs. Included are a list of the mushers who participated in the relay, additional information on the dogs that ran, brief information on the Iditarod, a trail map, and photographs of Seppala and Togo. Van Zyle, official artist of the Iditarod and a musher himself, has created vivid, full-spread paintings to bring the story to life. This book does not have the intensity of storytelling or art that is found in Togo, but for children whose interest is piqued by Blake's book, or for older readers, this is an excellent account told with lots of detail and drama.-Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Make way for more sled dogs. In the second work this fall to focus on the origins of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race-the first was Blake's Togo (p. 1216)-the reader learns about the historic 1925 rescue mission by sled-dog teams and their brave owners, bringing antitoxin serum to Nome, Alaska, to fight a diphtheria outbreak. Miller (Are Trees Alive?, p. 419, etc.) does a thorough job of explaining the different dog teams and owners and how many people and dogs played a part in the rescue despite difficult conditions. Van Zyle's (Gone Again, Ptarmigan, 2001, etc.) polished paintings of sled dogs in action complement the longer story well. The official painter of the Iditarod Race effectively captures the Alaska landscape, especially in sweeping vistas of snow, sky, and northern lights. The back matter includes a list of the "mushers" (dog handlers), further information about the dogs, a summary of the Iditarod Race, and a bibliography. Simple maps on the endpapers show the route of the rescue mission and the position of the route across the state of Alaska. This volume offers a more complete history of the serum race and all the heroic players within a more general context, while the recent Togo focuses on that particular dog and his contribution, providing more emotional engagement but less overall understanding of the event and its modern commemoration in the Iditarod. (Nonfiction. 7-10)
Art & Photography
Book Info
