Balto and the Great Race
Reviewed by Arlee Schmidt

I like this book very much. It was about this sled dog named Balto. He lived in Nome, Alaska. He becomes a hero in 1925 when dozens of children come down with diphtheria and need antitoxin serum. The serum was about 650 miles away. There were no roads, just an icy wilderness. The only way to get the serum to Nome was by the sled dogs. The problem was - could the sled dogs deliver the serum in time to save the children? Balto was the head dog that led the team.

The class at Vancouver Community College liked the pictures and drawings. They also liked the people in the book. They liked when the children gave all their pennies to help Balto. They thought the size of the print was good. When Balto was famous and old, he was sold to a museum. One of the learners said, “ I like how the man was able to understand Balto’s feelings. Otherwise Balto would have been dead in the museum because the weather wasn’t what he was used to and he didn’t have proper food or company." Another learner liked how it showed that humans also receive help from animals. She thought this book was excellent.

Another instructor had mixed reviews. The book is written with children in mind and some learners will resist any book written for children. On the other hand, the story is true, and one learner said she liked the detail.

This is a story of endurance and understanding between owner and dogs. One learner felt it was lacking in action, but if you are an animal lover you will really like this novel.

I found the print easy to read although some of the words are little hard to read. The book is designed for advanced readers. I like the map that showed where the sled team went to help the children. I found myself, when I was reading the places where the sled team went, I would look back at the map and follow the sled team. This book is a short novel; it's only a hundred pages long. It has back and white drawings, and they are done very nice. I think that learners will enjoy this book.

To see an actual sample page of this resource please refer to the PDF