| Dealing with Change
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| Gold Star Sister |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Claire Rudolf Murphy
Publisher
Lodestar, 1994
While helping take care of her Gram, 13 year-old Carrie discovers a long-held secret--her Gram had a brother who died in the Aleutians during World War II. Among his things is an unopened letter from a dying soldier to his infant son that Carrie vows to deliver.
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| Norman Tuttle on the Last Frontier: A Novel in Stories |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Tom Bodett
Publisher
Knopf, 2004
Norman Tuttle could be the klutziest kid in Alaska. Falling off his father's fishing boat into icy water is just one of several stories about Norman's adventures as he grows from 13 to near 16.
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| Seldovia Sam and the Sea Otter Rescue |
Level
Ages 6 to 12
Author
Susan Woodward Springer
Illustrator
Amy Meissner
Publisher
Alaska Northwest Books, 2003
Sam discovers a baby sea otter abandonned on the rocks offshore and rescues the pup. Did he do the right thing? Can he find the otter a good home?
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| The War Canoe |
Level
Ages 14 & up
Author
Jamie S. Bryson
Publisher
Alaska Northwest Books, 1990, 2009
Teenaged Mickey isn't sure who he is or what he is supposed to do. It would be easy for him to throw his life away, but a vision of a war canoe filled with his Tlingit ancestors and the help of a history teacher and a carver help him find his purpose.
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| Touching Spirit Bear |
Level
Ages 12 & up
Author
Ben Mikaelsen
Publisher
HarperCollins, 2001
Cole is banished to a year in the wilderness after he severely injures a boy in a fight.
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| Unseen Companion |
Level
Ages 14 & up
Author
Denise Gosliner Orenstein
Publisher
Katherine Tegen, 2003
A compelling story of the interconnected lives of four teenagers in Bethel. The central character is a young man who disappears after being jailed for hitting a teacher.
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| Pets
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| Big-Enough Anna: the Little Sled Dog Who Braved the Arctic |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Pam Flowers
and
Ann Dixon
Illustrator
Bill Farnsworth
Publisher
Alaska Northwest Books, 2003
Will little Anna, who everyone else thought was too small to join the dog team, prove she is big enough after all?
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| Danger: The Dog Yard Cat |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Libby Riddles
and
Shannon Cartwright
Illustrator
Shannon Cartwright
Publisher
Sasquatch Books/Paws IV, 2002
Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod, tells the story of her cat who wanted to be a lead dog. Lots of great information about running the Iditarod and dog mushing.
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| Douggie: The Playful Pup Who Became a Sled Dog Hero |
Level
Ages 6 to 12
Author
Pam Flowers
Illustrator
Jon Van Zyle
Publisher
Alaska Northwest Books, 2008
Douggie is the class clown of his fellow dog teammates. Owner Pam sees a spark that says he could be a great lead dog. Can Douggie live up to her belief in him?
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| John Muir and Stickeen: An Icy Adventure with a No-Good Dog |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Julie Dunlap
and
Marybeth Lorbiecki
Illustrator
Bill Farnsworth
Publisher
North Word, 2004
John Muir sets out to explore a glacier in what he expects to be a one-day trek with a friend's dog tagging along. When a storm hits, the hike becomes a test of survival and gives Muir a new respect for dogs.
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| Kavik the Wolf Dog |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Walt Morey
Publisher
Dutton, 1968
From the auther of "Gentle Ben" is the story of a wolf-dog who travels from Washington State to Alaska to return to the boy who once saved his life
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| Patsy Ann of Alaska |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Tricia Brown
Illustrator
Jim Fowler
Publisher
Sasquatch Books, 2011
The true story of one of the most famous dogs in Alaska. A statue of Patsy Ann stands in Juneau today as a reminder of this friendly dog.
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| Salty Sails North |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Gloria Rand
Illustrator
Ted Rand
Publisher
Henry Holt, 1990
Salty Dog sails north to Alaska and has many adventures.
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| Stickeen: John Muir and the Brave Little Dog |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
John Muir as retold by Donnell Rubay
Illustrator
Christopher Canyon
Publisher
Dawn Publications, 1998
A very readable retelling of this classic story how John Muir and the dog Stickeen survive a blizzard on a glacier and earn each other's trust.
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| The Call of the Wild |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Jack London
Publisher
Various publishers and editions,
Buck, stolen from his home in California, is shipped north during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush as a work dog. A classic tale of adventure and survival.
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| The Klondike Cat |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Julie Lawson
Illustrator
Paul Mombourquette
Publisher
Kids Can Press, 2002
Young Noah doesn't want to leave the family cat behind when he and his father head to the Yukon in search of gold. Will the cat be a burden or bring good luck?
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| Relationships
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| A Distant Enemy |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Deb Vanasse
Publisher
Lodestar/Dutton, 1997
Joseph is half-white, half-Yup'ik and he is angry. He's mad because his father isn't around and because he can't decide who he really wants to be. Adventure-filled and a great view of village life in rural Alaska.
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| Aleutian Boy |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Ethel Ross Oliver
Illustrator
Larry Lewton
Publisher
Binfords & Mort, 1959
When two boys are lost in the Aleutians, they use what the Aleut boy knows some of the old ways people used to survive.
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| Baby in a Basket |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Gloria Rand
Illustrator
Ted Rand
Publisher
Cobblehill Books, 1997
When a baby bundled in a basket against the deep cold of an Alaskan winter gets bumped out of the sleigh, will she be found? Based on a true story.
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| Blessing's Bead |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Debby Dahl Edwardson
Publisher
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009
A novel for young adults about love, loss, and finding your way home.
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| Diamond Willow |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Helen Frost
Publisher
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008
12 year-old Diamond Willow is more comfortable on a dog sled than in a crowd of people. She tells her story, that includes adventure and a secret, in verse.
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| Do Not Pass Go |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Kirkpatrick Hill
Publisher
Margaret K. McElderry, 2007
When Deet's stepfather is sent to jail for possessing drugs, Deet worries what the kids at school will think but he begins visiting jail anyway. These visits provide powerful insights not only for Deet but for his classmates.
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| Far North in the Arctic: Counting Alaska's Animals |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Cory Hansen
Publisher
Sasquatch Books, 1994
Come along and meet some of Alaska's animals.
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| Gold Rush Runaway |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Douglas DeVries
Publisher
Jade Ram , 1997
14 year-old Sven Olafsen runs away to the Far North in search of his father in the late 1800s, joining Lt. Castner's trail-cutting expedition along the way. Based on Lt. Castner's journals.
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| Gold Rush Winter |
Level
Ages 6 to 12
Author
Claire Rudolf Murphy
Illustrator
Richard Waldrep
Publisher
Random House, 2005
Young Klondy Nelson and her mother finally join her father in Nome. But will she fit in in this isolated gold rush town?
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| Gold Star Sister |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Claire Rudolf Murphy
Publisher
Lodestar, 1994
While helping take care of her Gram, 13 year-old Carrie discovers a long-held secret--her Gram had a brother who died in the Aleutians during World War II. Among his things is an unopened letter from a dying soldier to his infant son that Carrie vows to deliver.
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| Kitaq Goes Ice Fishing |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Margaret Nicolai
Illustrator
David Rubin
Publisher
Alaska Northwest Books, 1998
Little Kitaq can go ice fishing with his Grandpa IF he can walk all the way to the river and back. Does he catch fish for his family and does he keep his promise?
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| Mama, Do You Love Me? |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Barbara M. Joose
Illustrator
Barbara Lavallee
Publisher
Chronicle, 1991
A little Inuit girl tests her mother's love and yes, mama does love her in spite of all her mischief.
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| Norman Tuttle on the Last Frontier: A Novel in Stories |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Tom Bodett
Publisher
Knopf, 2004
Norman Tuttle could be the klutziest kid in Alaska. Falling off his father's fishing boat into icy water is just one of several stories about Norman's adventures as he grows from 13 to near 16.
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| On Mother's Lap |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Ann Herbert Scott
Illustrator
Glo Coalson
Publisher
Clarion, 1992
A comforting lesson about sharing and a mother's love.
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| On Mother's Lap |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Ann Herbert Scott
Illustrator
Glo Coalson
Publisher
McGraw-Hill, 1972
A comforting lesson about sharing and a mother's love.
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| Out of the Wilderness |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Deb Vanasse
Publisher
Clarion, 1999
Spending a winter in a small cabin, a father and his two sons learn valuable lessons about self-sufficiency, and how to get along.
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| Painter and Ugly |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Robert J. Blake
Illustrator
Robert J. Blake
Publisher
Philomel, 2011
A story of friendship and teamwork on the Iditarod trail.
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| Petticoat Fisherman |
Level
Ages 14 & up
Author
Elsa Pedersen
Illustrator
Charles Shaw
Publisher
Atheneum, 1969
After a 17 year-old girl wrecks her father's car, she must work on her father's fishing boat for the summer.
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| Quilt of Dreams |
Level
Ages 6 to 9
Author
Mindy Dwyer
Illustrator
Mindy Dwyer
Publisher
Alaska Northwest Books, 2000
After Katy's grandmother dies, Katy and her mom find the beginnings of a quilt labeled "Kate." Together they solve the mystery of the quilt and capture memories of Gram.
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| Raven House Mouse |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Jan Steinbright
Illustrator
Robert Davis
Publisher
Winternights Publishing, 2007
A lonely orphan mouse finds a home in a Tlingit Clan House.
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| Revolver |
Level
Ages 12 & up
Author
Marcus Sedgwick
Publisher
Roaring Brook, 2009
A story full of suspense involving a 14 year-old boy, the Colt revolver his father taught him to shoot, and a stranger claiming he's owed half of the gold stashed at the remote cabin where the boy sits with his father's frozen corpse.
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| Runaways on the Inside Passage |
Level
Ages 12 & up
Author
Joe Upton
Publisher
Alaska Northwest Books, 2002
Thirteen year-old twins, a brother and sister set off in November with the elderly fishing partner from Seattle in search of their father who they think is in Sitka. Can they weather the winter storms by themselves when their guide becomes very sick?
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| Seldovia Sam and the Blueberry Bear |
Level
Ages 6 to 12
Author
Susan Woodward Springer
Illustrator
Amy Meissner
Publisher
Alaska Northwest Books, 2005
Sam's blueberry picking is interrupted by a bear. He decides to write about the adventure for a school essay contest, but is worried his best friend, who was with him, will write abou the same thing.
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| Seldovia Sam and the Wildfire Escape |
Level
Ages 6 to 12
Author
Susan Woodward Springer
Illustrator
Amy Meissner
Publisher
Alaska Northwest Books, 2005
It's a dry summer in Seldovia and when campers are careless a fire threatens the town.
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| The Bite of the Gold Bug: A Story of the Alaskan Gold Rush |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Barthe DeClements
Publisher
Viking, 1992
Part of the "Once Upon a Time in America" series, this book covers the Klondike Gold Rush through the eyes of a 14 year-old boy who travels with his uncle and father to the gold fields in 1898.
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| The Great Death |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
John Smelcer
Publisher
Holt, 2009
Based on a real story, this book tells of a period of great sadness in Alaska when as many as 60-70% of the Alaska Native population died from diseases brought by white people. This story focuses on two sisters who did not die.
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| The Klondike Cat |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Julie Lawson
Illustrator
Paul Mombourquette
Publisher
Kids Can Press, 2002
Young Noah doesn't want to leave the family cat behind when he and his father head to the Yukon in search of gold. Will the cat be a burden or bring good luck?
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| The Salmon Princess: An Alaska Cinderella Story |
Level
Toddlers to 9
Author
Mindy Dwyer
Illustrator
Mindy Dwyer
Publisher
Sasquatch Books, 2004
What if Cinderella lived in Alaska? How would the story be different?
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| To the Summit |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Claire Rudolf Murphy
Publisher
Avon, 1998
A novel about a 17 year-old girl's attempt to be the youngest person to summit Mount McKinley, and along the way puts her life and her struggles with her parents into perspective.
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| Toughboy and Sister |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Kirkpatrick Hill
Publisher
Margaret K. McElderry, 1990
An 11 year-old Athabascan boy and his younger sister are left on their own at fish camp when their dad gets drunk and disappears. A realistic survival tale.
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| Unseen Companion |
Level
Ages 14 & up
Author
Denise Gosliner Orenstein
Publisher
Katherine Tegen, 2003
A compelling story of the interconnected lives of four teenagers in Bethel. The central character is a young man who disappears after being jailed for hitting a teacher.
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| Williwaw! |
Level
Ages 10 & up
Author
Tom Bodett
Publisher
Knopf, 1999
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