Ice Island
By Mary Eisenhart,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Tense adventure as dogsled run becomes race for survival.
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What's the Story?
Thirteen-year-old Tatum is obsessed with sled-dog racing and dreams of being in the Iditarod, so she's thrilled when her mom gets a temporary job at a remote Alaskan resort and takes Tatum along. Before long she's befriended a local boy who shares her interest, and when they're caught in a storm during what's supposed to be a short afternoon run, they and their dogs must call on all their resources to survive.
Is It Any Good?
Author Shahan is primarily a travel writer, and she passionately describes the treacherously beautiful, blinding white landscape that is home to sled dogs and the people who love them. ICE ISLAND captures the precariousness of life on the frontier, the ease with which everything can change in an instant, and the way your very survival and that of your loved ones depends on how well you respond. The novel also conveys a lot of common sense and good values, including the ability to solve the problems that result from having made the wrong decision earlier.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Alaska's Iditarod sled-dog race -- what do you know about the history? Were you surprised to learn how dangerous it is, for both people and dogs?
Have you been to a remote part of the world like Santa Ysabel Island? How did you like it?
If you found yourself away from home, stranded in the wilderness, what would you do?
Book Details
- Author: Sherry Shahan
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: Adventures, Cats, Dogs, and Mice, Great Girl Role Models, Wild Animals
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Delacorte Press
- Publication date: January 10, 2012
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 9 - 12
- Number of pages: 176
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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