The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto

by Natalie Standiford

Book Overview

Celebrate a winter miracle with the true, inspirational story of Balto in this Step 3 Step Into Reading Early Reader.

It is one of the worst storms ever - the snow has not stopped for days and it is 30 degrees below zero. But somehow Balto must get through. He is the lead dog of his sled team. And he is carrying medicine to sick children miles away in Nome, Alaska. He is their only hope. Can Balto find his way through the terrible...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394896955
• ISBN13: 9780394896953
• Release Date: October 1989
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.4" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Snow, Nor Gloom of Night...

...can keep these packs of hardy huskies and malamutes from delivering the antitoxin to Nome during the 1925 Diptheria Epidemic! No train can get through due to the snow. The train that was originally transporting the medicine got mired in snow, more than 700 miles from its destination. Only a sled team of hardy dogs can reach the stricken town. Balto, the lead dog on one of the latter legs of that fateful run led a team of hardy malamutes and huskies some 53 miles. He led the team through adverse weather and land conditions including blizzards and a froxen river. The curly tailed dog is credited for seeing the medicine through; it is on his run that the medicine arrived 10 days ahead of schedule. This book will delight and excite young readers who will wait with baited breath (even though they know the malamute team will reach the town like the Calvary). The delightful illustrations make a good thing even better. The history of the hardy Eskimo dog, the sled dog driver and the dog teams will provide a part of history that will be revived and discussed for a long time to come. Adding the map of the dog sled trail was an excellent teaching device. Matthew Wilders' 1983 "Ain't Nothing Gonna Break My Stride" and McFadden & Whitehead's 1979 runaway train "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" could be the soundtracks for this book.

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Snow, Nor Gloom of Night...

...can keep these packs of hardy huskies and malamutes from delivering the antitoxin to Nome during the 1925 Diptheria Epidemic! No train can get through due to the snow. The train that was originally transporting the medicine got mired in snow, more than 700 miles from its destination. Only a sled team of hardy dogs can reach the stricken town. Balto, the lead dog on one of the latter legs of that fateful run led a team of hardy malamutes and huskies some 53 miles. He led the team through adverse weather and land conditions including blizzards and a froxen river. The curly tailed dog is credited for seeing the medicine through; it is on his run that the medicine arrived 10 days ahead of schedule. This book will delight and excite young readers who will wait with baited breath (even though they know the malamute team will reach the town like the Calvary). The delightful illustrations make a good thing even better. The history of the hardy Eskimo dog, the sled dog driver and the dog teams will provide a part of history that will be revived and discussed for a long time to come. Adding the map of the dog sled trail was an excellent teaching device.

4 ½* Exciting Story of Heroic Dog

"This is a true story about a very brave dog."It's 1925 in the sub-zero, treacherous region of Nome, Alaska. Two children stricken with diphtheria need medicine, but the train that carries it gets stuck in the snow, 700 miles from Nome. The town's only hope is a 21-team dog sled relay to deliver the precious medicine. Balto, the head dog on the second to the last run, leads his team through blinding snowdrifts and over a frozen river, and around cracking ice, and reaches Nome almost ten days before the expected arrival. He becomes famous: In New York City, thousands of miles away, a statue of Balto is put up in Central Park.This is an exciting book, with soft, slighted muted illustrations and short sentences, is an excellent book (especially for adventure and dog lovers) for the reader in from around grades 1 through 3. The suspenseful narration and the real heroics of Balto and his driver (along with the 20 other dog teams) make for a dramatic story. 48 pages, includes map of the trail to Nome.

Great for Balto fans---

I bought this book for my 6 year old daughter who loves Balto. I was looking for a book that she would be interested in enough that she would try to read it herself and I found it in this book. She loves Balto and that has helped her spark her interest in reading this book. She needs some help with some of the words but isn't discouraged.We are going to try to find the statue of Balto in Central Park mentioned in the book when go to New York City next week.

Great Adventure Book

I thought the book was appropriate for the language of most 2nd graders. It was also entertaining and adventurous. The students could not wait to read what was going to happen next. The plot was easy to follow.