(2) K-3 Illustrated by Giselle Potter. he Potter mother-daughter team tells the true story of Togo, an exceptional Siberian husky owned by the musher Leonhard Seppala of Nome, Alaska. An accessible text recounts Togo's somewhat tumultuous beginnings. Ultimately, Seppala made him the lead dog of his sled team hauling cargoes of food and mail. In January 1925, when Togo was almost twelve, an outbreak of diphtheria in Nome coincided with a "blasting" blizzard. Families were desperate to get medicine, and the town knew their only hope was the sled dogs. In a carefully planned relay, one hundred fifty dogs would cover the 674-mile route between Nome and Anchorage. Seppala's team, with Togo in the lead, traveled the hardest and longest part of the race, over two hundred fifty miles. "He steered his team along jagged ice-capped slopes and led them up and over a five-thousand-foot mountain pass!" The book emphasizes the role that Togo's intelligence and bravery played in the serum's record-time arrival, which saved the lives of many children. Milisande Potter crafts an exciting story and deftly weaves the history of the Serum Run of 1925 into one canine hero's tale. Giselle Potter, using ink and watercolor, perfectly captures Togo's clear-sighted determination and fearlessness. Appended with an author's note and sources.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(2) 4-6 Hopson's (Inupiat) debut novel is the story of the origin of the Messenger Feast, an Inupiat festival of song and dance. Pia follows in the footsteps of his two older brothers, both of whom died confronting a golden eagle. When he encounters the eagle, instead of attacking or freezing in fear, Pia accepts its challenge to learn what the Eagles can teach him. Pia brings his new understandings of song, drumming, dance, architecture, and community back to his family, to the animals who share their environment, and to the people whose stories sustain their culture. This retelling of a traditional tale benefits from Hopson's personal connection to Alaska, where she was born and raised and where she and her family live. Set in the long-ago of oral tradition and accompanied by occasional colored-pencil and ink drawings, the tale evokes the tundra in all its seasons. Hopson deftly describes smells (the autumn earth, the "dusty rot" of the Eagle Mother), tastes (berries, roasted caribou meat, bitter Arctic hare fed on willow bark), and sounds (marmot whistles, bumblebees) that bring the land to life for the reader and ground this archetypal hero's journey in the real world.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(1) K-3 In Goade's (Caldecott Medalist for We Are Water Protectors, rev. 7/20) latest picture book, set "on an island at the edge of a wide, wild, sea," a Tlingit grandmother teaches her granddaughter "how to live on the land." First, they gather what they need from the water. Then they enter the forest to pick berries; the berries' names serve as an evolving refrain, and the land is also frequently and reverently referenced. As they pick, they sing to the flora, the fauna, and the ancestors: "We take care of the land... As the land takes care of us." Once they have collected what they need, they head home. After their subsequent feast, they say "Gunalchéesh," giving thanks for the food. The story ends with the girl passing on the song and her grandmother's knowledge to her younger sister. Goade's lush, brightly colored art vividly portrays the landscape. In many of the images, the child and her grandmother are shown intertwined with the forest, with which they are deeply connected. In one scene, the grandmother and granddaughter are the same green as the forest, and their hair and faces are covered by leaves. In another image, we see a totem pole faintly outlined within a tree. An author's note tells more about Goade's childhood; her life in Sheet'ká, or Sitka, Alaska; and the song in the book. Endpapers name the berries in both English and Tlingit.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) 4-6 Scientists in the Field series. Photographs by Mark Wilson. The magnificent snowy owl has only one U.S. nesting location: Ukpeagvik, on Alaska's North Shore. Readers travel vicariously to the town of Utqiagvik (previously Barrow) where they meet senior owl researcher Denver Holt, who has been studying these nesting grounds every summer since the early 1990s. In a designated hundred-square-mile area of the tundra, he makes numerous scheduled trips to count the nests; band chicks; collect data on lemmings, the staple of this creature's diet (ascertained by dissecting thirty-five thousand owl pellets); analyze nest rims for other sources of food; and study the feather markings of both males and females. Readers not only glimpse the difficulties of working in such challenging conditions, including driving or walking through the spongy tundra or meticulously protecting the nests while studying them and warding off aggressive birds of prey, but they also see how Holt uses the data to form conclusions or prompt further study. Wilson, a prolific wildlife photographer, explains his procedures for photographing these birds in their natural habitat and shares his final products in clear, informative, and often dramatic images. Appended with a glossary, a bibliography, and an index (unseen).

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) 4-6 Photographs by Roy Corral. Twenty years after Children of the Midnight Sun, Brown and Corral present ten additional portraits of contemporary Alaska Native children. Each Indigenous child receives two spreads telling about his or her daily life and culture. The book is strongest when centering the voices of the featured young people and their family members. Clear photographs of people, places, flora, and fauna enliven the workmanlike text. Glos.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(3) 1-3 Time Dogs series. Illustrated by Misa Saburi. On a typical day, the elderly dogs of Happy Paws Farm nap and enjoy one another's company. When tracking a lost ball leads the pack to a time-traveling/age-reducing magical van, the five friends experience adventures in history--as puppies. Frequent black-and-white illustrations support the large-font text. An author's note provides details about the real life events that inspired the stories. Review covers these Time Dogs titles: Balto and the Race Against Time and Seaman and the Great Northern Adventure.

Reviewer: Pam Yosca

(3) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Tails from History series. Illustrated by Rachel Sanson. The latest installments in this easy-reader series about famous animals in history present two new compelling protagonists: a Japanese Akita adopted by Helen Keller and a cat dubbed "mayor" of a small town in Alaska. Nakamura imposes mild drama on both "tails," while Sanson's straightforward and appealing cartoon illustrations give new readers lots of visual help with the narratives. Further facts are appended. Review covers these Ready-to-Read: Tails from History titles: The Cat Who Ruled the Town and A Puppy for Helen Keller.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Mindy Dwyer. When Granddaughter rushes and spills blueberries, Grandmother explains how trickster raven Chulyen's nose became bent because he hurried. After Chulyen loses his beak, an old woman uses it as a tool; Chulyen steals his nose back, but without noticing it's now worn and crooked. Sprightly comic-style art and the inclusion of Dena'ina words make this an engaging retelling from southern Alaska. Reading list. Glos.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) 4-6 Almost-twelve-year-old Edgar, sensitive and insecure, and his troubled mother, Stephanie, who's just gone through a breakup, are house-sitting in the Yukon. There Edgar bonds with a dog named Benjamin, while friendship and family drama swirl around him--leading to a near tragedy. An engaging read, with well-developed characters, a strong sense of place, and a fast-flowing narrative.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(4) 4-6 Set on a remote Aleutian island during World War II, this survival story is slow to start but eventually picks up speed. The unusual setting and the two main characters, resourceful eleven-year-old Izzy and disaffected fourteen-year-old Matt, help make the narrative compelling. The two endure cold, hunger, fear, and injury, finding strength in their friendship.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) YA When Corey learns that her best friend, Kyra, has died tragically, she returns to her hometown of Lost Creek, Alaska, after a seventh-month absence. Staying with Kyra's parents, with whom Kyra had a tense relationship, Corey has five days to figure out what really happened. While Nijkamp's introspective sophomore effort has effective flourishes of horror, the writing is ultimately emotionally unconvincing.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt

(4) YA Kicked out of college in Anchorage after one semester, eighteen-year-old Eddie takes a year-long job with a newspaper in isolated rural Alaska to prove he's "ready to be a college student again"; instead, Eddie begins smuggling marijuana. Eddie can be an obnoxious horn-dog and is a pretty unlikable protagonist overall, but vivid setting details give readers a sense of the wide-open lonesomeness of the tundra.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 4-6 You Choose: Surviving Extreme Sports series. Snow, bitter cold, wild animals, and other physical dangers are omnipresent in these pick-your-path wilderness-survival stories. Readers' choices determine whether the adventure ends successfully or in failure. The narratives highlight the exhilaration and danger of both extreme sports; color photographs sprinkled throughout illustrate the majestic yet harsh environments. An epilogue provides limited contextual background. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these You Choose: Surviving Extreme Sports titles: Surviving Mount Everest and Surviving the Iditarod.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) 4-6 School is tough for eleven-year-old Matthew: he is bullied and may fail math. To earn extra credit, he creates a business plan, relying on his passion for sled-dog racing to create a sled school for other kids. Matthew's growth is believably gradual, while Johnson skillfully incorporates math into the text; animal lovers will welcome the information about dogs and racing.

Reviewer: Grace Worcester Greene

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Wendell Minor. This is a well-researched account of Jack London's 1897–98 adventures during the Klondike Gold Rush, after which he returned to California with little gold but a wealth of writing material. In notes, Lourie admits he's "taken a few liberties" in crafting the compelling wildnerness narrative, which is enhanced by archival photographs and Minor's evocative illustrations. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) YA Escape: Werewolf Council series. In their small Alaskan town, best friends Nate and Riley find themselves on opposite sides of an age-old conflict between werewolves and those tasked with guarding humans from them. The teens believably grow into their respective roles--Nate as a werewolf and Riley as heir to the Order--which drives the six-part supernatural series' overall narrative. Intense action keeps the lively continuous plot moving forward. Review covers these Werewolf Council titles: By the Blood..., The Hidden Blade, Never Alone, Nobilitate Nobis, Pointed Hand, and Wolfland.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) YA Escape: Werewolf Council series. In their small Alaskan town, best friends Nate and Riley find themselves on opposite sides of an age-old conflict between werewolves and those tasked with guarding humans from them. The teens believably grow into their respective roles--Nate as a werewolf and Riley as heir to the Order--which drives the six-part supernatural series' overall narrative. Intense action keeps the lively continuous plot moving forward. Review covers these Werewolf Council titles: By the Blood..., The Hidden Blade, Never Alone, Nobilitate Nobis, Pointed Hand, and Wolfland.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) YA Escape: Werewolf Council series. In their small Alaskan town, best friends Nate and Riley find themselves on opposite sides of an age-old conflict between werewolves and those tasked with guarding humans from them. The teens believably grow into their respective roles--Nate as a werewolf and Riley as heir to the Order--which drives the six-part supernatural series' overall narrative. Intense action keeps the lively continuous plot moving forward. Review covers these Werewolf Council titles: By the Blood..., The Hidden Blade, Never Alone, Nobilitate Nobis, Pointed Hand, and Wolfland.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) YA Escape: Werewolf Council series. In their small Alaskan town, best friends Nate and Riley find themselves on opposite sides of an age-old conflict between werewolves and those tasked with guarding humans from them. The teens believably grow into their respective roles--Nate as a werewolf and Riley as heir to the Order--which drives the six-part supernatural series' overall narrative. Intense action keeps the lively continuous plot moving forward. Review covers these Werewolf Council titles: By the Blood..., The Hidden Blade, Never Alone, Nobilitate Nobis, Pointed Hand, and Wolfland.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) YA Escape: Werewolf Council series. In their small Alaskan town, best friends Nate and Riley find themselves on opposite sides of an age-old conflict between werewolves and those tasked with guarding humans from them. The teens believably grow into their respective roles--Nate as a werewolf and Riley as heir to the Order--which drives the six-part supernatural series' overall narrative. Intense action keeps the lively continuous plot moving forward. Review covers these Werewolf Council titles: By the Blood..., The Hidden Blade, Never Alone, Nobilitate Nobis, Pointed Hand, and Wolfland.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo