Douggie: The Playful Pup Who Became a Sled Dog Hero

by Pam Flowers, Jon Van Zyle (Illustrator)

Overview

From the beginning one puppy was different from the rest. He was big and black, his brother and sisters small and gray. While the others lay quietly snuggled against their mother, this puppy squirmed and wiggled constantly.

So begins the inspiring true story of a puppy whose boundless energy almost got the best of him. Douggie: The Playful Puppy Who Became a Sled Dog Hero is Pam Flowers's tribute to the pup who seemed destined to remain the class clown. But Pam saw potential in this exuberant youngster, and Douggie's intelligence and persistence ultimately earned him the position of lead dog for a dangerous 325-mile expedition to the Magnetic North Pole.

As the lead dog, Douggie lead the sled dog team on this exciting adventure traveling across the frozen sea of the far Canadian north for 18 days, surviving many challenges and returning home safely. Douggie went on to become a top lead dog and lead a subsequent trip of 2,500 miles.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780882406541
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	01/01/2008
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,135,718
Product dimensions:	8.68(w) x 10.28(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Author and wilderness adventuress Pam Flowers, is the recipient of a Gold Medal form the Society of Women Geographers, and was named an "Outsider of the Year" by Outside Magazine.  She has successfully completed numerous expeditions by dog team.

Each year Pam speaks to school children about life lessons regarding confidence, team work, respect, as well as Arctic geography. She lives in Talkeetna, Alaska.

Editorial Reviews

K-Gr 3- Flowers and her dog teams have run the Iditarod and made numerous other expeditions in Alaska. In this book, she tells the story of a particular sled dog, Douggie. Because of his independence and high spirits, she initially wondered if he would ever be able to work as part of a team. Only after three years of training did she consider him ready to make a 325-mile journey to the Magnetic North Pole. Douggie proved his worth, acting as lead dog on the difficult expedition, and even facing off with a polar bear. While the story will be of interest to dog lovers and dogsled enthusiasts, the narrative is not exciting enough to pull in general readers. The visually striking but calm illustrations never convey a sense of danger or real fear that the team will not succeed. In fact, although Douggie's energy is repeatedly referred to in the text, the majority of the illustrations depict him in a static manner. Van Zyle's vibrant acrylic paintings beautifully render the light and expanse of the Alaskan landscape but the dogs and people never come to life. Children will be intrigued by the route map, which shows how dogsleds travel between islands on the ice.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

School Library Journal