The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto (Step-Into-Reading)

List Price: $3.99 Discount Price: $0.48

Customer Reviews:

Awesome Alaskan Adventure for Kids [Posted on 2006-03-18]
I teach an afterschool literacy program for children in 3rd-6th grades. My 3rd grade struggling readers loved this story! However, you need to give them the background information ahead of time for them to get the most out of this story. We looked at copies of the original news stories and pictures of the real Balto, read books about Alaska and the Iditarod Race, and learned about "dogs with jobs" before we opened this book. The easy reading level and great illustrations made this a joy to read for my reluctant readers. They wrote a "missing chapter" of the dogs' journey to Nome. Fantastic!

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Snow, Nor Gloom of Night... [Posted on 2006-11-02]
...can keep these packs of hardy huskies and malamutes from delivering the antitoxin to Nome during the 1925 Diptheria Epidemic!

No train can get through due to the snow. The train that was originally transporting the medicine got mired in snow, more than 700 miles from its destination. Only a sled team of hardy dogs can reach the stricken town. Balto, the lead dog on one of the latter legs of that fateful run led a team of hardy malamutes and huskies some 53 miles. He led the team through adverse weather and land conditions including blizzards and a froxen river. The curly tailed dog is credited for seeing the medicine through; it is on his run that the medicine arrived 10 days ahead of schedule.

This book will delight and excite young readers who will wait with baited breath (even though they know the malamute team will reach the town like the Calvary). The delightful illustrations make a good thing even better. The history of the hardy Eskimo dog, the sled dog driver and the dog teams will provide a part of history that will be revived and discussed for a long time to come. Adding the map of the dog sled trail was an excellent teaching device.

Heartwarming, but... [Posted on 2008-03-05]
Although this is an inspiring and well-written piece of literature, the fact is that, even though Balto took the medicine 53 miles, his was the last leg of the relay. There were other teams of dogs who traveled farther and longer than Balto's team, and they received none of the credit afterwards. I suppose it's the politics of heroism, which is sad, but they should still be acknowledged for having gotten the medicine far enough for Balto to see it delivered safely to the sick people.

Balto [Posted on 2008-07-28]
This is a wonderful story for children. It is also enjoyable for adults.

It is a true story and there is a statue of Balto in Central park in New York City.

Better than most Step 3 readers [Posted on 2008-10-26]
I can't be the only Mom that gets frustrated by this. I go to buy early reading books and encounter ONLY TV- and movie- marketed characters in the books. I would like better choices.

Anyway, Balto was the only Step-3 book in the store that did NOT have a Princess or SpongeBob on the cover, so we got it. I expected to get some flack from the child who is afraid of dogs, but he liked it fairly well.

Balto is a sled dog in 1925 who participates in a relay. The purpose is to bring medicine to an Alaskan town with a diphtheria epidemic, carrying it through a driving blizzard and terrible conditions. Balto had the second-to-last leg of the relay, but when it was time to hand off to another team, the other team was not there. So Balto and his team kept going. Since he was the dog who made it into town with the medicine, he got the credit for the whole adventure! We talked about the other dog teams and drivers who had to come through the deep snow, and how all those teams working together got the job done.

Here is what the first grader liked best about the story (his words):
+ There is a map. Maps are good.
+ The dog kept going.
+ The doctor helped the sick children.
+ I like the picture of the statue of Balto.
+ Balto was a hero.

Here is what the Mom liked in the story:
+ It would have been easy to quit, but the driver and his sled team kept going, despite miserable conditions.
+ The words were just challenging enough.
+ I liked the map, too.
+ The illustrations are wonderful. The book has fairly many pages (48), but the pictures keep up the excitement.
+ There really is a statue of Balto in Central Park, and you can google it to see the real statue (of course, if you live near NYC, you can see it live!)

As far as reading levels go, I would say level 3 is a pretty good judgment. My son was reading phonics readers and step 1 readers over the summer, and his confidence is building. This book did not frustrate him, but it took him a while to sound out some of the words. I had to help with the names of some towns and complicated words (Anchorage, diphtheria). The rest, he did himself.

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