Monday, March 3, 2014

On Your Mark…Get Set…Mush!

The Iditarod -- “The Last Great Race” -- began on March 1, 2014 with the ceremonial start that included 69 mushers and their pumped up dogs. The ceremonial start is a fun showy event when each of the teams runs through the streets of Anchorage, Alaska for 11 miles to Campbell Air Strip. The official timed race begins today, March 2, and will continue for approximately 10 days, depending on when the first dogsled team crosses the finish line in Nome. 

The Iditarod race celebrates the 1925 dogsled run from Anchorage to Nome that carried diphtheria serum to save the lives of many patients who contracted the illness. It’s an adventurous trek across brutal terrain, with all kinds of dangerous, exciting encounters and life-threatening situations. The Iditarod is the perfect backdrop for captivating reading. Grab one of these books and experience the Iditarod from the warmth of your home – unlike the mushers who are out there in -30 below temperatures! Oh, wait…we’ve had the same winter as Alaska this year! Bundle up!

Famed children’s author, Gary Paulsen, recounts his first experience running the race. His story is compelling, dangerous, and hysterically funny at points. He captures the danger and excitement – and sometimes boredom – of running 1,200 miles with only his dogs for company. They survived moose attacks, frostbite, sleepless hallucinations and much more. Enjoy this page-turner! 

Photographer Jeff Schultz captures the essence and thrill of the men and women mushers who work with their dogs to cover the incredible 1,200 mile territory from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska.

Fiction:
The Boy in the Snow by M.J. McGrath
Half-Inuit Edie Kiglatuk finds herself in Alaska with Sergeant Derek Palliser, helping her ex-husband Sammy in his bid to win the famous Iditarod dogsled race. The race takes a grim turn when Edie stumbles upon the body of a baby left out in the forest. The state troopers are keen to pin the death on the Dark Believers, a sinister offshoot of a Russian Orthodox sect, but Edie's instincts tell her otherwise. Her investigations take her into a world of corrupt politics.

On Thin Ice by Cherry Adair
For veterinarian Lily Munroe, running in the grueling 10-day, 1,110-mile Iditarod was challenging enough without having to compete against tall, dark, and annoying playboy-rancher Derek Wright. But flirtatious Derek is determined to prove that he is the only man for Lily. Of course, once Derek wins Lily over, he has to tell her about his other career as a secret agent for T-FLAC, a privately funded black ops antiterrorist group. When Lily becomes the victim of several mysterious, potentially deadly mishaps during the race, Derek must find a way to keep the adorably stubborn woman he loves safe--and convince her that they belong together. (Downloadable ebook, visit our Downloadables page for more information) 

For more information about the Iditarod, go to: www.iditarod.com

Got kids? There are numerous books about the Iditarod for children. Please use our online catalog to search.

-KF

No comments:

Post a Comment