Silver

by Gloria Whelan, Stephen Marchesi (Illustrator)

Overview

Deep in the Alaskan wilds, 9-year-old Rachel dreams of owning and racing a sled dog one day. When her father, who breeds and races huskies, gives her the runt of the litter, Rachel names the puppy Silver and sets out to prove he's a champion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780394896113
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	04/28/2004
Series:	A Stepping Stone Book(TM) Series
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	5.19(w) x 7.56(h) x 0.16(d)
Lexile:	840L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Gloria and her husband Joseph moved from Detroit to the woods of northern Michigan several years ago. Many of Gloria's books take place during the summer — because she does a lot of her writing during the northern Michigan blizzards! Gloria has been telling stories for as long as she can remember. Before she could read or write, she used to dictate stories to her baby-sitter, who would type them out. Being an only child, many of Gloria's stories were about having a brother or sister. Gloria would like to have written Little Women, because Jo March was one of her role models growing up! Gloria once had a set of five guinea pigs, all named after Detroit Tiger baseball players!

Editorial Reviews

"The writing is smooth at a low reading level. Effectively planned appeal for transitional readers."—Bulletin, Center for Children's Books.  

From the Publisher

ea. vol: (Stepping Stone Bks.). CIP. Random. 1988. PLB $5.99; pap. $1.95. Gr 2-4O'Diddy , formerly the imaginary friend of a young girl nicknamed Boon, has now become invisible to her because she no longer believes in him. O'Diddy tries, through various contrived situations, to make Boon believe in him again. Told in the first person, the story's writing style is corny and irritating, with too many asides and admonitions to readers to continue reading, to believe in imaginary friends, and to feel sorry for O'Diddy, none of which work. Set in Alaska, Silver is told by nine-year-old Rachel, whose father competes in dog sled races in the winter. She is given the runt of the litter of puppies born to her father's best sled dog, and she names him Silver. While her father is competing in the Iditarod, Silver is stolen by a mother wolf to replace one of her cubs who had died. Rachel rescues the pup and trudges home through the snowstorm, barely able to find her way. Safely home, she awaits word of her father, who finishes third in the dog sled race. This is a lively, thoroughly credible story emphasizing the loneliness and excitement of Alaskan living for a young girl. The strong and forceful female protagonist brings to mind Jean George's older and more sophisticated Julie of the Wolves (Harper, 1972) for more advanced readers. Hayden E. Atwood, Cape Elizabeth Middle School, Maine

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