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Searching... Salem Main Library | J Whelan, G. | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Deep in the Alaskan wilds, 9-year-old Rachel dreams of owning and racing a sled dog one day. When her father, who breeds and races huskies, gives her the runt of the litter, Rachel names the puppy Silver and sets out to prove he's a champion. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Author Notes
Gloria Whelan was born on November 23, 1923 in Detroit, Michigan. She took a strong interest in reading early in life when she was bedridden for a year with rheumatic fever. She dictated stories to her sister who would then type them. She then went on to writing poetry and later editing her high school newspaper. She attended the University of Michigan and earned her B.S.degree and M.S.W. degree. She began working as a social worker in Minneapolis and Detroit. She soon became tired of Detroit's hectic pace and moved to a cabin in northern Michigan.This peace was disrupted by an oil company 's desire to drill on her property. Because she did not own the mineral rights, the drilling proceeded. This experience inspired Gloria Whelan to write her children's novel, A Clearing in the Forest in 1978, which was about a boy working on an oilrig. Gloria Whelan has written several works of fiction for children and adults, many set in rural Michigan. She has also written stories set in exotic places like China and India. She won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2000 for Homeless Bird - the story of a young woman in India abandoned by her mother-in-law.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
ea. vol: (Stepping Stone Bks.). CIP. Random. 1988. PLB $5.99; pap. $1.95. Gr 2-4O'Diddy , formerly the imaginary friend of a young girl nicknamed Boon, has now become invisible to her because she no longer believes in him. O'Diddy tries, through various contrived situations, to make Boon believe in him again. Told in the first person, the story's writing style is corny and irritating, with too many asides and admonitions to readers to continue reading, to believe in imaginary friends, and to feel sorry for O'Diddy, none of which work. Set in Alaska, Silver is told by nine-year-old Rachel, whose father competes in dog sled races in the winter. She is given the runt of the litter of puppies born to her father's best sled dog, and she names him Silver. While her father is competing in the Iditarod, Silver is stolen by a mother wolf to replace one of her cubs who had died. Rachel rescues the pup and trudges home through the snowstorm, barely able to find her way. Safely home, she awaits word of her father, who finishes third in the dog sled race. This is a lively, thoroughly credible story emphasizing the loneliness and excitement of Alaskan living for a young girl. The strong and forceful female protagonist brings to mind Jean George's older and more sophisticated Julie of the Wolves (Harper, 1972) for more advanced readers. Hayden E. Atwood, Cape Elizabeth Middle School, Maine (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Rachel, nine, lives in rural Alaska, where her mother runs an in-home beauty parlor and her dad does carpentry--except during the all-important dogsled races in which he competes. Rachel loves the dogs, and when champion Ruff has pups, Dad lets her have the runt; by book's end, ""Silver"" has responded to her good care and bids fair to be a fine lead dog like his mother. Meanwhile, Dad has come in second in the brief ""Rondy"" and third in the 1000-mile Iditarod, while (in the book's only tense moment) Silver has been kidnapped by a mother wolf and retrieved, in dark and snow, by Rachel. A simple, direct style and well-chosen details that are certain to appeal to kids (14 dogs in a motel room, with moose stew thawing in the bathtub) make this a charming, unassuming narrative that authentically conveys its setting. Marchesi's soft, black-and-white illustrations make freckle-faced Rachel and her dogs even more appealing. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 2-4. Ten-year-old Rachel lives halfway between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Her dad travels all winter competing in dog-sled races and is justifiably proud of his lead dog, Ruff. Given the runt of Ruff's litter, Rachel is overjoyed and names the puppy Silver. When a friend tells Rachel not to forget that it was a lady racer who won the Iditarod last year, her desire to compete in that most famous dog-sled race across Alaska crystalizes. Rachel, who wants Silver to be the fastest lead dog, lavishes care on the pup. There's tense excitement when Silver is stolen by a mother wolf to replace her own dead baby, but Rachel courageously rescues him. Whelan's vivid words of a child's view of an Alaskan winter are complemented by Marchesi's affectionate illustrations. Though an easy chapter book, Whelan's mature tone will also appeal to older, and perhaps reluctant, readers. PW. Dogs-Fiction / Sled dog racing-Fiction / Alaska-Fiction [CIP] 87-26612