  | Togo to the rescue : how a heroic husky saved the lives of children in Alaska Author: Potter, Melisande | |
| Price: $23.78 | ||
Summary:
Explores the true story of Togo: the heroic Siberian Husky who traveled over 250 miles through a terrifying snowstorm to help deliver life-saving medicine to children in need, saving the lives of many.
| Illustrator: | Potter, Giselle |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (08/15/24)
School Library Journal (10/01/24)
Booklist (09/15/24)
The Hornbook (00/11/24)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 10/01/2024 Gr 1–2—Togo, a Siberian Husky born in Alaska in 1913, led a dog team in the historic serum-run to save the lives of children suffering from diphtheria in Nome in 1925. A brutal blizzard that year necessitated the use of 150 dogs to relay medicine from the capitol to Nome over the course of five days. Potter's flat ink and watercolor illustrations place readers in the midst of the windswept snow plains and mountainous territory the teams of animals crossed under extraordinarily difficult conditions. The featured human in this story, musher Leonhard Seppala, a Norwegian immigrant, is centered in this historical narrative that takes place against a backdrop of whiteness. Diverse skintones do appear, but the illustrations do not indicate the fact that one-third of Nome's population at the time was Indigenous, nor does the text acknowledge the existence of anyone other than Seppala and the governor of Alaska at the time of the event. The author's note provides context and identifies fact and fiction without addressing the illustrator's choice to represent the Togo's eyes as icy blue. Togo's eyes were recorded as having appeared brown. VERDICT With the stated shortcomings, this title will be of interest to collections where tales of animal heroics are popular.—Jessica Fenster-Sparber - Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
