St. Patrick is credited with driving all the snakes out of Ireland. How did he do that? Did he get all of them? And if one was missed, what happened to it? The Last Snake: a Story About St. Patrick, by Sheila MacGill-Callah and illustrated by Will Hillenbrand will answer all these questions. Fun!

Kilt at the Highland Games, by Kaitlyn Dunnett is the most recent of the delightful mysteries set in Moosetookalook, Maine. As time draws near for the annual Celtic Festival things start to go wrong: there's a fire that destroys a local business, the murder of a local resident (okay, so he's not much loved) (!), someone breaks into the Post Office ... and more. How are these events all connected? Are they? Love the twist at the end involving the rather nasty visitor/customer to the Scottish Emporium! A nice series, especially if you are fond of plaid and bagpipes. :-)

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Mushers are on the trail to Nome even as I keyboard this. How did it all get started? Find out in Father of the Iditarod: the Joe Redington Story, by Lew Freedman. Seeing that dog mushing was becoming less common (think snow mobiles) and old trails abandoned, Redington wanted to do something to preserve this important part of Alaska's past. He was a master at promotion (just look at the result)! There was not much money for that very first race so the same sign was used for both the start and the finish, it was just turned around! The finish line was marked with the mix for red Kool-Aid!

According to the blurb on the back of his book Beyond Ophir: Confessions of an Iditarod Musher, an Alaska Odyssey, author Jim Lanier caught the mushing bug in the 1970's (his first Iditarod was 1979). Read about his time with his dogs, on the trail, in training ... both good and bad, funny and sad. Easy to read, the author has a nice style. His descriptions made me happy I was inside, where it was warm! :-)

Remember when doctors made house calls? Now, imagine doing that in the Northwest Territories and you have House Calls by Dogsled: Six Years in an Arctic Medical Outpost, by Keith Billington. He and his wife were nurses who did much of the medical care in this remote area. Excellent read about the challenges here, and not just the medical ones ... when word got to the higher ups (far, far, away) a memo was sent that dogs could NOT be kept on a medical site (which is where they lived, pretty much available 24/7). Sometimes a doctor was needed ... enter one of the amazing bush pilots! ... and a community that gathered together with toilet paper and kerosene to make a landing strip.

I know you are not to judge a book by the cover, but this is a book I did pick up because of the cover. I'll admit it right up front, I have not ready any of Jack London's books, but even so, I really enjoyed Jack London's Grand North, by Philippe Lansac. Full of photos (by the author), excerpts from London's writings, pen and ink sketches, it was a great arm chair journey of where Jack London went when he was in the north.

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Seems March 14th is National Potato Chip Day so for that why not try this tween mystery The Potato Chip Puzzles, by Eric Berlin? A local, successful business owner (potato chip factory!) has set up a competition featuring puzzles. Local schools (who figure out the first puzzle, which is the invitation) send teams to win money for their school.

Yes, I know it's March 11th, and the 14th falls on one of my usual posting dates ... but ... I also have a few more sled dog books to use and that seemed like it might be a good date for those. :-)

And, if you enjoy crossword puzzles, here are two authors that use them in their mysteries. I read several books from both series before I started my blog. They were fun! Parnell Hall writes the Puzzle Lady mysteries, start with Clue for the Puzzle Lady. The main character here is a hoot! She is actually the image for the puzzles, and couldn't actually create a crossword puzzle if her life depended on it (as the saying goes), but she is good at solving crime!

The Crossword Mystery Series is by the husband and wife team using the name Nero Blanc. Start with Crossword Murder.

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Look! A counting book that is perfect for this time of year! Wiggle-Waggle Woof! Counting Sled Dogs in Alaska, by Cherie B. Stihier, with illustrations by Michael Bania. Count up ears and toes and booties and more in this charming tale of a musher getting his dogs harnessed and ready to run. Delightful!!

Here's a dog's eye view of the Iditarod: Eowyn and Linus On the Iditarod Trail, by Guy Henry (who also did the photographs). Just what might the dogs be thinking? Fun!

Sled dog teams have been used in Denali National Park since it's opening in 1917. Then it was more for catching poachers, now its mostly for public service and keeping trails open. Just how do the pups learn the skills they need? Find out in Running with the Big Dogs: a Sled Dog Puppy Grows Up in Denali National Park Alaska, by Lori Yanuchi and illustrated by Wendy Brown.

To heck with the seven dwarfs! Try this version of Snow White .... Alaska's Snow White and Her Seven Sled Dogs, by Mindy Dwyer. A nice twist on the old fairy tale, with beautiful illustrations.

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A fun book for kids (and adults!) now: BEE: A Peek-Through Picture Book, illustrated by Britta Teckentrup (and text by Patricia Hegarty). Just like the Twelve Days of Christmas 'peek' book (January 5, 2017 post) the reader is given a peek into what is coming on a later page. Be sure to look for the animals amongst the flowers on the last page (with text, not the end pages). :-)

While some of Following the Wild Bees: the Craft and Science of Bee Hunting, by Thomas D. Seeley was a puzzlement (figuring out how to follow the bees back to where the honey was), I mostly enjoyed this book. (And those of you not so 'math challenged will understand what I didn't).;-) I liked that it is an outdoor activity that needs very little equipment, you don't need a permit or license ... and you don't need to set any speed records! Also, this is not a quest to GET the honey (which involves the death of the tree you'd cut down as well as the bee colony), just to find where the bees go. Thanks to Constant Reader for this recommendation. :-)

This book started when the author was walking with his daughter and she was asking about everything she saw. He decided that he needed to say more than just 'tree' or 'bird' and started doing his research. The result was Unseen City: the Majesty of Pigeons, the Discreet Charm of Snails, & Other Wonders of the Urban Wilderness, by Nathanael Johnson. Just what does live in our urban areas? What is edible? How did the plans and animals adapt? Charming and fun as well as educational.

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It's the first Saturday in March and time for the Iditarod again and that means books about sled dogs!

This is part of a series of memories of an elder tribe member from Arviat, Nunavut. I hope there are many, and that others add to this collection! In Kamik: an Inuit Puppy Story, Donald Uluadluak explains to his grandson how he relied on dog teams when he was young, and about the bond of love and trust. Jake has dreams of his own team of dogs, but at the moment has just the one ... an energetic, mis-behaving puppy! The illustrations are by Qin Leng.

Jon Van Zyle is the official artist for the Iditarod. Has been for decades! Check out his wonderful work in Jon Van Zyle's Iditarod Memories: 40th Anniversary Edition of Official Race Art. His wife, Jona, provided the text. Amazing and wonderful!

"The history of Alaska was in large part written behind a team of sled dogs." This starts the blurb on the back of the book Alaskan Sled Dog Tales: True Stories of the Steadfast Companions of the North Country,by Helen Hegener which is a wonderful collection of stories that proves it! Just a wonderful collection (some from books mentioned in earlier posts) as well as some amazing photographs. My favorite may have been the chapter that featured sled dogs on the covers of popular magazines.

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The tiny mouse is lonely and has just one friend ... the moon. Still, a conversation seems a bit one sided. What happens one night when he tries to get closer to his friend so they can talk? The Mouse and the Moon, by Gabriel Alborozo is a sweet story with nice illustrations.

Ted Harrison is a well known Canadian artist and in O Canada you will see why! This is a great introduction to the provinces and territories of the nation 'next door'.

 

Also from Ted Harrison comes A Northern Alphabet. This is more than an ABC book (it says so, right in the introduction!). Look carefully at each picture and find other things that start with the featured letter, then, make up a story using as many words that start with this letter as possible. So much fun!

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