A young girl trains her husky puppies until her first solo run as a musher.

This title introduces young dog lovers to the sports of sled dog racing, covering everything from the history of the sport to conditioning, training, and competing. The title features informative sidebars, exciting photos, a photo diagram, and a glossary. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Text and photographs describe the sport of sled dog racing, focusing on the Iditarod race in Alaska and discussing how dogs are raised and trained as racers, the history of sled dog racing, and how the sport is practiced in North America.

Over beer and hamburgers at the Two Rivers Lodge near Fairbanks, Alaska, a small group of mushers conceived a gutsy idea for a new sled dog race that would be more challenging than any other marathon race in the Far North. In 1984, mushers organized the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Soon, mushers adopted an unofficial race motto, "Survive first, race second." The Quest trail boasts fewer checkpoints, longer wilderness runs, and more campouts. The trail crosses three mountain passes, including the dreaded 3,685-foot Eagle Summit, a killer of mushers' dreams. Outdoor survival skills and self reliance are on a par with commercial sponsorships and high-tech sleds and mushing gear. Yukon Quest is an exciting, inspirational story full of bigger-than-life characters told by Lew Freedman, best-selling author of eight books about sled-dog racing. Includes a list of race champions, names of all finishers, and 16 pages of photos.

Includes history, training of the dogs, famous dogs, building sleds.

Paulsen and his team of dogs endured snowstorms, frostbite, dogfights, moose attacks, sleeplessness, and hallucinations in the relentless push to go on. Map and color photographs.

Discusses the history of the Iditarod race, including its history, traditions, and the possible dangers the racers and their dogs face.--