I’m so pleased that Anchorage’s KTUU-TV gave my new book some on-air time. They did such a wonderful job.
This book spans the history of humans and dogs in the north in pictures and brief chapter introductions, from the early partnership of working dogs with Alaska Native hunters, to freight dogs of the gold miners, to the dog derbies and long-distance mushing competitions that developed in the twentieth century.
Congratulations to Dallas Seavey, who won Iditarod 2014, one of the most grueling races in the books.
I’m joining many teachers and guest speakers all across the country as we recognize the upcoming World Read-Aloud Day through “Skype in the Classroom.” I can’t wait to see how it’s going to go!
On Wednesday, February 26, I’ll be in Oregon, but reading The Itchy Little Musk Ox to Ms. Oldham’s students at Willow Crest Elementary in Anchorage. We’re beginning a half-hour of reading and chatting at 9:15 a.m. Alaska time, so if your early elementary class elsewhere in the country would like to join us, it’s so easy! You can register through Skype’s education program.
It’s all part of World Read-Aloud Day, with the Children’s Book Council and LitWorld, putting their resources behind the event, which is now in its fourth year. The actual Read-Aloud Day is Wednesday, March 5, and I’ll be visiting an Oregon classroom on that day.
Even if you don’t take part in a Skype lesson, if you have a special kid in your life, make sure to celebrate March 5 by sitting down with a book and then talking about it afterward. And know that millions of others will be doing the same thing that day.
What you see at right is my living room “studio” that I can set up and take down as needed. I elevate my laptop on a piece of exercise equipment (which gets much more use this way). And because ease in screen-sharing hasn’t quite landed for me, I figured out my own way. I have a Windows movie of illustrations from the book I’m reading cued up to run on the television. Once we connect with a classroom on Skype, I greet the kids, talk about Alaska (note map on floor), and introduce the book before stepping aside to run the movie on the TV as I read aloud. Laugh, but it works!
The scariest time was when I was happily chatting with some students on Skype, getting ready to run the movie, and suddenly, I could hear my puppy Willow around the corner in my office SHREDDING PAPER. I managed to not run off camera until our session had ended.
I’m happy to announce the release of a new book! I’m a bit premature; it’s actually due out in early February, in time for fulfillment before the March 1 start of the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Many of you like my children’s books–watch for a new one on the shelves next summer, but this one, titled Iditarod, is for young adults and adult readers.
Arcadia Publishing specializes in photo-illustrated history books, and while Iditarod’s history is brief (1973 was the official first year), the history of mushing in Alaska goes back for centuries. The pictures inside are amazing.
Four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King wrote the book’s Foreword, and I am grateful for the photo contributions from many mushers and fans who were involved in Iditarod’s early days. It’s also loaded with professional photography by Jeff Schultz, official photographer of the Iditarod, who’s been shooting the race for more than three decades. For more information on the race, including the route map and details of the Anchorage ceremonial start and the Willow, Alaska, restart, see www.iditarod.com.
I’ll be doing book-signings around Anchorage during the week preceding this year’s Iditarod start, so keep your eye on my calendar, and I hope to see you there! You may preorder copies online or at your favorite storefront bookstore.
Let’s just set aside the Alaskan reality shows for now. Yes, they’re entertaining, but sometimes the sustained hype is wearisome. Still we watch!
You want reality? Here’s the real deal: my newest book from Alaska Northwest Books, The Alaska Homesteader’s Handbook: Independent Living on the Last Frontier.
I partnered with Palmer, Alaska, resident Nancy Gates to interview forty-four Alaskans for this how-to book, so each “chapter” is a mini-profile coupled with a tip from that person for getting along in the wilderness. From tying useful knots, to putting in a winter waterhole through the river ice, to field-dressing your moose . . . you’ll be amazed at what these pioneers, old and young, have to teach! And all of the how-to segments are beautifully illustrated by Natalie Gates.
Build an outhouse, lay the perfect campfire, overwinter your chickens. What works on the Last Frontier will work in your neck of the woods. So take a lesson or two from these Alaskans. Get yourself a copy and buy one for each of your friends!
They’ll be in your favorite bookstore or online bookseller. Just ask for ISBN 978-0882408118.
Dedicated librarian Diane Firmani in Alaska is one of the most entertaining educators I’ve met. Naturally, the kids love her.
TRAVELIN’ TRISH
I’ve had the busiest school year to date, with trips to the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and to Alaska from my home in Oregon. I visited public and private schools, as well as libraries and bookstores. Here’s a review of where I’ve been this year:
MIDWEST: Winslow Elementary, Indiana; Alan Shepard Elementary, Illinois; Kankakee Valley Montessori School, Bourbonnais, Illinois; Limestone School, Kankakee, Illinois; Kankakee Public Library, Illinois.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA: Southeast Island School District schools—Hollis, Thorne Bay, Kasaan, Port Protection, Coffman, Naukati, Edna Bay, and Whale Pass; Craig Elementary, Craig; Craig Public Library, Craig; Hydaburg School, Hydaburg; Ketchikan Public Library in association with Parnassus Books, Ketchikan; Holy Name School, Ketchikan; Tongass School of the Arts and Sciences, Ketchikan; Point Higgins School, Ketchikan; Juneau Public Library; Riverbend Elementary, Juneau; Gastineau Elementary, Juneau.
And more good news: I recently learned that a favorite book of mine, GROUCHO’S EYEBROWS, has been named for the Alaska Battle of the Books 2012-13 reading list! That also means more opportunities to get out there and visit students next year. Start planning and let me know if you’d like me to visit your school or local library. Click on the School Visits tab for more info.
A gathering of teachers and librarians in Fairbanks. Students had created banners for each visiting author.
The City of North Pole had booked me for a signing during its annual Candlelighting event for Christmas. When it was cancelled, the mayor said sign the books anyway!
It seems I’ve just returned from Southeast, and I’m packing again to head back north. This time, I’ll be traveling to Anchorage, the Mat-Su Valley, Fairbanks, North Pole, and as far as little Salcha, Alaska.
First on the schedule is the annual READALASKA BOOK & CRAFT FAIR, a Thanksgiving holiday weekend tradition held at the Anchorage Museum for many years. On Nov. 25, 26, and 27, you’ll find me signing and selling my books at the Tricia Brown Books table upstairs in the atrium.
Jeff King’s new book!
I’ll be joined by four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King, who’s selling his newly released second edition of Cold Hands, Warm Heart, a wonderful collection of his adventures on the trail (which I edited, by the way). He’s added three new stories to this expanded edition, along with dozens of new photos.
Another big event scheduled for Sat., Nov. 26, is POLICE NAVIDAD, a free, family-oriented gathering at Anchorage’s Dena’ina Center on 7th. There’s Breakfast with Santa, entertainment, games, food, and lots of kid activities. Jeff King and I will break away from ReadAlaska for a reading at Police Navidad. We’ll be on stage from 10:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., so please make it a date!
Jeff and I also will be reading later that day (at 1 p.m.) at the Anchorage Museum auditorium. The Museum Gift Shop is hosting our reading and will supply lots of books for the signing that follows immediately after the reading.
In the weeks that follow, I’ll be visiting schools and libraries all along the railbelt. I hope we get a chance to meet during my winter book tour! See you soon!
From Musher’s Night Before Christmas; illustrated by Debra Dubac
Flying from Ketchikan to Prince of Wales Island; a quick up and down again.
Along the water at Juneau, Patsy Ann’s statue can be found near the Juneau Public Library, still gazing up Gastineau Channel for the next ship.
I gathered up some favorite images from my travels through the Panhandle of Alaska. Each community I visited expressed a unique personality, including Alaska Native cultures, and logging and fishing families. In each place, I found dedicated educators.
A warm welcome from the students of Thorne Bay on Prince of Wales Island!
A totem park with old and new carvings shares the grounds of Hydaburg school.
Haida master carver Stan Marsden crafted this rare totem that’s outside Kasaan School.
With Maggie Freitag of Ketchikan’s Parnassus Books
Every community I visited was on the water–I guess that’s island life, Alaskan-style.
At Naukati School on Prince of Wales, I read to students at Port Alexander, across the water at the tip of Baranof Island. Like a few other schools in this district, it is populated by fewer than twenty kids who can stay connected through technology.
Designed by Patrick McDonegal, Juneau Public Libraries
I’m traveling to Ketchikan, Prince of Wales Island, and onward to Juneau in the coming weeks, with a full schedule that includes visits to a dozen schools and libraries. I’m sure looking forward to it!
I had to show off this promotional poster for our event at the Juneau Library Public – Downtown. I love it. And, this is a rare opportunity to meet both the author and illustrator (Jim Fowler) of Patsy Ann of Alaska.
Next month, I’ll be touring schools, libraries, and bookstores in Anchorage, the Valley, Fairbanks, and North Pole. And let’s not forget ReadAlaska Book & Craft Fair at the Anchorage Museum—it’s during the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. Hope to see you there, too. Stay tuned!
Rudolph’s nose light is worn out, and Nome, Alaska, the last stop on Santa’s round-the-world delivery run, is socked in with a bad snowstorm. The good children of Nome must have their toys, but who will deliver?
Santa remembers a grown-up boy named Tom, a dog musher who lives along the Iditarod Trail. He alights on Tom’s roof to ask a favor: Could Tom and his team take it from here?
Here’s a brand-new book for Christmas 2011 from Pelican Publishing of Gretna, Louisiana, featuring a clever dog musher and his team of champions. Up in lead position is Tom’s favorite, Kate. Come along on this wild Christmas Eve ride!
Fans of The Itchy Little Musk Ox will recognize the distinctive illustration style of Alaskan artist Debra Dubac, whose paintings breathe life into these characters.
I’ll be touring in Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, and Alaska this fall, reading this wonderful twist on the old classic. If you’d like me to visit your library, school, or bookstore, drop me a line!
Teaching about Alaska at Riley Elementary, Gold Beach, Oregon
Ready to Visit YOUR School or Library
This summer, I’ve been busy working on some book editing projects for a couple of publishers, but I’m also working on new books for coming seasons.
I’m excited about three fresh-off-the-presses books to share, and I’d love to visit your favorite bookstore, school, or library for a reading or signing. I have multi-media presentations for each of these books:
The World-Famous Alaska Highway: A Guide to the ALCAN and Other Wilderness Roads of the North (Fulcrum Publishing, 2011). For those of you who are planning a trip up the Alaska Highway this summer, it’s not too late to pick up the 4th edition. And now is the time to begin your planning for a trip in 2012.
Patsy Ann of Alaska: The True Story of a Dog (Sasquatch Books, 2011). This is a fun read-to-me book for pre-K to 2nd- or 3rd-graders. It’s a wonderful tale of a dog that belonged to a whole community in Depression-era Juneau.
Musher’s Night Before Christmas (Pelican Publishing, 2011). I’m setting up Fall visits now all over the country for this new version of an old classic.
So drop me a line and let me know when you’d like me to come. Things are shaping up now for September through December!
The 4th edition is here!A true story with heart.Had some fun with this.
