Togo

Format:

Book

Title:

Togo

Author:

Blake, Robert J.

ISBN:

9780399233814

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations, color maps ; 22 x 29 cm

Summary:

In 1925, Togo, a Siberian husky who loves being a sled dog, leads a team that rushes to bring diphtheria antitoxin from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska.

A biography of Togo, the lead dog of the Alaskan dogsled team which made the historic 1925 journey across Alaska to retrieve medicine during a diphtheria epidemic. The amazing 674 mile journey made by the dogsled team and their human leader, Leonhard Seppala, became the inspiration of the Alaskan Iditarod.

Reading Level:

Elementary Grade.

420 Lexile.

Program Information:

Accelerated Reader 3.8.

Reading Counts! 3.3.

Accelerated Reader AR LG 3.8 0.5 59496.

2.0 Reading Counts RC K-2 3.3 32025.

Subject(s):

Siberian husky -- Alaska -- Juvenile fiction.

Mushers -- Alaska -- Juvenile fiction.

Togo (Dog) -- Juvenile fiction.

Diphtheria -- Alaska -- Nome -- Juvenile fiction.

Diphtheria antitoxin -- Juvenile fiction.

Sled dogs -- Fiction.

Siberian husky -- Fiction.

Dogs -- Fiction.

Diphtheria -- Fiction.

Iditarod National Historic Trail (Alaska) -- History -- Juvenile fiction.

Alaska -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Iditarod National Historic Trail (Alaska) -- History -- Juvenile fiction.

Alaska -- Fiction.

Alaska

Alaska -- Iditarod National Historic Trail

Alaska -- Nome

Genre:

Picture books for children.

Historical fiction -- Juvenile fiction.

Added Author:

Gauch, Patricia Lee.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Monmouth Public Library	BLAKE	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Lyons Public Library	E/K BLA	Searching... Unknown
Searching... McMinnville Public Library	Blake	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Togo wasn't meant to be a sled dog. He was too feisty and independent to make a good team member, let alone a leader. But Togo is determined, and when his trainer, Leonhard Seppala, gives him a chance, he soon becomes one of the fastest sled dogs in history! His skills are put to the ultimate test, though, when Seppala and his team are called on to make the now-famous run across the frozen Arctic to deliver the serum that will save Alaska from a life-threatening outbreak of diphtheria.

In the style of Akiak, winner of the Irma S. and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, along with five state awards, Robert J. Blake's detailed, carefully researched oil paintings complete the story of the adventure that inspired the internationally famous Iditarod race.

Author Notes

Robert J. Blake was born and raised in New Jersey. As a boy he made "tons of drawings" and used up thousands of crayons. He says, "I even did a huge crayon mural on our hallway that was not artistically appreciated by my parents."Sharing one large room with two older brothers was "total chaos," he recalls. "We had lots of animals - dogs, ducks, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, lizards, turtles, snakes, birds, fish, and even two flying squirrels. And, oh yes, a tarantula. I think my parents were afraid to come up to our room."Mr. Blake now resides in New Jersey with his wife and son. He works in his studio, a renovated barn on his property. Mr. Blake says, "I would like to paint in every state in the United States and in every country in the world.""I hope my books lend the reader a feeling, and emotion, a new point of view, a new way to look at something that they might not have experienced otherwise."
Robert J. Blake was born and raised in New Jersey. As a boy he made "tons of drawings" and used up thousands of crayons. He says, "I even did a huge crayon mural on our hallway that was not artistically appreciated by my parents."Sharing one large room with two older brothers was "total chaos," he recalls. "We had lots of animals - dogs, ducks, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, lizards, turtles, snakes, birds, fish, and even two flying squirrels. And, oh yes, a tarantula. I think my parents were afraid to come up to our room."Mr. Blake now resides in New Jersey with his wife and son. He works in his studio, a renovated barn on his property. Mr. Blake says, "I would like to paint in every state in the United States and in every country in the world.""I hope my books lend the reader a feeling, and emotion, a new point of view, a new way to look at something that they might not have experienced otherwise."

Reviews (4)

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 5-Togo is a spirited puppy, determined to be a sled dog even though his owner, Leonhard Seppala, does not think he has what it takes. He's small for a Siberian husky, and much too independent. When he is only eight months old, he breaks through a fence and finds his owner's team on a supply run; it takes only a day for him to prove himself as a musher. Soon the young dog is leading his team in races, and breaking speed records every time. When Togo is eight years old, Seppala is asked to make an emergency relay run to pick up a serum that can stop the diphtheria epidemic threatening the entire population of Nome, AK. Togo leads his team over 350 miles through storms, suffering terribly, and with almost no rest. While it is another dog, Balto, that became famous for the serum run of 1925, he actually led the final team in the relay, running 53 miles. Many people feel that Togo is an unsung hero, and so will readers, who will feel the terrible cold depicted chillingly in Blake's paintings. The urgency and desperation come across clearly in both the dramatic text and the full-page impressionistic paintings. The dogs are not anthropomorphized, but their expressions are haunting. Pair this first-rate historical adventure with Natalie Standiford's The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto (Random, 1989) or with Blake's Akiak: A Tale from the Iditarod (Philomel, 1997).-Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Horn Book Review

This is a fictionalized account of a 1925 diphtheria serum run from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. The story focuses on Togo, the lead sled dog on one of the teams. It's due to Togo's determination and strength that his team logs the most miles in the grueling relay and ensures the delivery of the life-saving serum. The dramatic telling is enhanced by the textured oil paintings, which depict a realistic frozen landscape. From HORN BOOK Spring 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

The cover of this long picture book is a showstopper, with the entire spread showing just the face of a snowy dog with intense, pale-blue eyes, along with the single title word and the author's name. Who could resist opening it to find out who Togo is? In a dramatic story based on a real event, Blake (Fledgling, 2000, etc.) recounts the historic rescue mission undertaken in 1925 Alaska by Leonhard Seppala and his lead sled dog, Togo. Seppala, owner of the fastest sled-dog team in Alaska, lived in Nome during an outbreak of diphtheria, and he was asked to travel by dogsled to a town 300 miles away to pick up serum to fight the diphtheria outbreak. Togo, a brilliant, perceptive dog, successfully led Seppala's team during this mission, which was accomplished in just a few days. The dog that finished the journey, Balto, is the dog most children know, but Togo made that finish possible and the entire run inspired today's Iditarod. Blake begins with the heartwarming story of Togo's younger days, when he proved himself a worthy lead dog, followed by the dramatic, harrowing tale of the desperate rush for the serum. ("Diphtheria" and "serum" aren't defined in the text, but their meanings should be clear.) Blake's arresting oil paintings add greatly to the well-told tale, capturing the personality of the special dog. Some paintings show panoramic snow-covered vistas, others show the dogs in action, with thick white strokes of paint often representing the falling snow. A map on the endpapers enables the reader to follow the progress of the rescue mission, which they will-breathlessly. (author's note) (Picture book. 6-9)

Booklist Review

Gr. 2^-4. Can you name the most heroic sled dog in history? It's not Balto, as Blake points out; the team that Balto led covered only the final, 53-mile leg of the rescue mission that carried diphtheria serum to beleaguered Nome in 1925. Honors might more justly go to Balto's kennel-mate, Togo, lead dog of a team that carried the life-saving cargo 350 miles, through deadly weather and over dangerously weak ice. Blake takes a few liberties with the accompanying text, using some invented dialogue and lines such as, "But Togo didn't want to be a pet." But he paints a vivid word-picture of bitter, deadly conditions and the grueling effort required to surmount them, reinforcing it with dramatic art that brings out the textures of snow and fur, and the spirit of the small, indomitable dog as it forges across rugged, frozen landscapes. Blake concludes with a brief account of his on-site research for information; his compelling tribute is sandwiched between endpaper maps tracing the mission's entire route. --John Peters