The Great Serum Race: Blazing the Iditarod Trail [Hardcover]

Debbie S. Miller (Author), Jon Van Zyle (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Ride shotgun with the heroic mushers whose bravery inspired the Iditarod.

In the winter of 1925, Nome, Alaska, was hit by an unexpected and deadly outbreak of diphtheria. Officials immediately quarantined the town, but the only cure for the community of more than 1,400 people was antitoxin serum and the nearest supply was in Anchorage—hundreds of miles of snowbound wilderness away. The only way to get it to Nome was by dogsled.

Twenty teams braved subzero temperatures and blizzard conditions to run over 600 miles in six days in a desperate relay race that saved the people of Nome. Several of the dogs, including Togo and Balto, became national heroes. Today their efforts, and those of the courageous mushers, are commemorated every March by the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Jon Van Zyle’s stunning oil paintings capture the brutal conditions, pristine wilderness, and sheer guts and determination demonstrated by the heroic mushers and dogs.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Hot on the heels of Robert J. Blake's Togo (Philomel, 2002) comes another version of the story of the relay race across Alaska to save the people of Nome from an outbreak of diphtheria in 1925. While Blake focuses on one particular dog, Miller tells the more complete tale, beginning with the first dying children and including all of the details of carrying the serum from Anchorage, 1000 miles from its destination. The conditions were terrible as dog teams and mushers dealt with all sorts of problems caused by temperatures as low as 64 degrees below zero. Much of the story focuses on Leonhard Seppala, the musher who owned Togo, Balto, and many other sled dogs. Included are a list of the mushers who participated in the relay, additional information on the dogs that ran, brief information on the Iditarod, a trail map, and photographs of Seppala and Togo. Van Zyle, official artist of the Iditarod and a musher himself, has created vivid, full-spread paintings to bring the story to life. This book does not have the intensity of storytelling or art that is found in Togo, but for children whose interest is piqued by Blake's book, or for older readers, this is an excellent account told with lots of detail and drama.
Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. This picture book for older children tells the full story of the legendary 1925 race to Nome, Alaska, to deliver diphtheria antitoxin serum. The run was actually a relay, completed by many mushers and teams (a chart showing the name of the musher and the distance covered is included in the back of the book), although a dog named Balto seems to have the best press agent; his participation in the race is memorialized with a statue in Central Park and a feature-length movie. There's a lot of text here, but Miller's telling is exciting, and her details are compelling. Particularly outstanding are Van Zyle's acrylic-on-Masonite illustrations that perfectly capture the icy chill and dim light of the Arctic. Simply put, each scene in the double-page spreads looks damn cold. Back matter describes what happened to some of the dogs that helped deliver the serum and explains how the serum run became the basis for the Iditarod. For more history about the race, suggest also Lew Freedman's Father of the Iditarod (1999). Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802788114
• ISBN-13: 978-0802788115
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,699,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Debbie S. Miller grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. She loved climbing trees, watching animals, and hiking in wild places such as Yosemite National Park. The natural world inspired her to write at a young age. After obtaining her teaching degree, Debbie moved to Alaska with her husband, Dennis. The call of the wild beckoned them from the freeways of California.

For the past 35 years, Debbie has loved exploring the wilds of Alaska and studying its great diversity of wildlife. Alaska has been the foundation and inspiration for all of her writing. Her first wilderness adventure book, Midnight Wilderness (Sierra Club Books, 1990) describes the wonders and natural history of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge based on 14 years of explorations. Many of her nature books for children, such as Survival at 40 Below (Walker, 2010) have been recognized as Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children by the National Science Teachers Association and Children's Book Council (NSTA/CBC).

Debbie enjoys speaking in schools across Alaska and America, sharing her books and programs with teachers and students of all ages. She also likes traveling to other wild regions of the world, such as Australia, where she recently studied some fascinating marsupials, reptiles, and birds.

Alaska will always be a home that Debbie cherishes along with her two grown, beautiful daughters who still enjoy hiking, fishing and camping with her.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have Iditarod Book, February 8, 2003

By 

"ann44436" (Chatham, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Serum Race: Blazing the Iditarod Trail (Hardcover)

Debbie Millers masterful retelling of the Serum Run, which saved the children of Nome, Alaska from a deadly diphtheria epidemic in 1925, goes well beyond the facts of this heroic team effort. The Great Serum Run: Blazing the Iditarod Trail includes well-researched factual information, reference tables, maps, and photographs. Millers narrative comes alive as she skillfully interweaves many little known fascinating details of how the mushers and their dog sled teams endured their individual treks from Nenana to Nome in such deadly weather conditions. The story behind this famous dog sled team relay was inspiration for the world famous Last Great Race, the Iditarod. Jon Van Zyle, the official Iditarod artist, complements Millers text with vivid, captivating illustrations. Readers of this book will gain a sense of the unbelievable accomplishment of these dog sled teams. People of all ages will treasure this book. The Great Serum Run: Blazing the Iditarod Trail should be included as a first resource for teachers interested in providing thought provoking discussions about the Iditarod, teamwork, and mans interaction and dependence on animals.

About the Reviewer: Ann Morgan has taught lessons about the Iditarod in grades 2- 6 for the last 18 years, and is currently teaching at Chatham Middle School, Chatham, Massachusetts. In 2000, she was in Alaska at the Iditarod and acquired first hand knowledge of the race by following the mushers and dog sled teams with her own bush pilot from Anchorage to Nome.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book worth reading for children & adults, January 15, 2003

By 

Annete McDonald (Nenana, Alaska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Serum Race: Blazing the Iditarod Trail (Hardcover)

Debbie Miller did a great deal of research before writing this book, so though it is written for children, it is a great account for all to read. I would highly recommend it to readers of all ages who are interested in dog teams and their important role in Alaska. This is the best and most acurate telling of the story of the serum run to Nome in 1925 which I have ever seen. It is a children's book in that it explains what happened from the viewpoint of children. Beyond the story, there are facts presented in the back of the book. Jon Van Zyle is a popular artist, but I did not feel that his oil paintings for this book were all that great.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have Iditarod Book, February 8, 2003

By 

"ann44436" (Chatham, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Serum Race: Blazing the Iditarod Trail (Hardcover)

Debbie Miller's masterful retelling of the Serum Run, which saved the children of Nome, Alaska from a deadly diphtheria epidemic in 1925, goes well beyond the facts of this heroic team effort. The Great Serum Run: Blazing the Iditarod Trail includes well-researched factual information, reference tables, maps, and photographs. Miller's narrative comes alive as she skillfully interweaves many little known fascinating details of how the mushers and their dog sled teams endured their individual treks from Nenana to Nome in such deadly weather conditions. The story behind this famous dog sled team relay was inspiration for the world famous "Last Great Race," the Iditarod. Jon Van Zyle, the official Iditarod artist, complements Miller's text with vivid, captivating illustrations. Readers of this book will gain a sense of the unbelievable accomplishment of these dog sled teams. People of all ages will treasure this book. The Great Serum Run: Blazing the Iditarod Trail should be included as a first resource for teachers interested in providing thought provoking discussions about the Iditarod, teamwork, and man's interaction and dependence on animals.

About the Reviewer: Ann Morgan has taught lessons about the Iditarod in grades 2- 6 for the last 18 years, and is currently teaching at Chatham Middle School, Chatham, Massachusetts. In 2000, she was in Alaska at the Iditarod and acquired first hand knowledge of the race by following the mushers and dog sled teams with her own bush pilot from Anchorage to Nome.