Lively, inspiring story about a famous pooch. Includes an informative and interesting author's note. ( )

The famous story of the underestimated heroic dog that delivers serum in order to help with a diphtheria breakout, and what happens after his fame. I saw this a bit as a sequel to the original story, which I really enjoyed. After his stardom, he ends up being sold to a performance show, and is treated very poorly. A man who goes by the name of Kimble helped raise money to put him in a better place. He raised 2,000 to save him, which in 1927 is much more than it is today. The heroic deed of this man is the heart warming part of the story, he fights to raise money for the believed Balto to get what he truly deserves. ( )

The Incredible Life of Balto by Meghan McCarthy

The Text: McCarthy tells the well-known story of Balto, the sled dog who saved the citizens of Nome by bringing diphtheria serum. But do we really know the story? Careful research reveals Balto as the inexperienced dog, surprisingly chosen to lead the team on the last leg of the race to Nome. Balto became famous, a statue was erected to him in Central Park, he met celebrities, a movie was made about him...but then Balto was sold. He was abused and shown as a sideshow freak until a businessman named George Kimble put together a fundraising campaign to purchase the famous Balto and his sled dog team. Balto spent the rest of his life happily at the Brookside Zoo in Chicago.

The Illustrations: Meghan McCarthy's pop-eyed illustrations show the people and places that Balto encountered throughout his tumultuous life. The paintings are in subdued shades of brown and blue and include paintings of photographs and newspaper articles.

The Extras: The author includes a "Detective Work" section, where she talks about her research, looking for the real story of Balto and what happened after his famous trek. Information on the other dogs and sled drivers is included, and there are quotations from them. She examined photographs and descriptions to determine Balto's actual appearance and coloring. Activities on researching past events are included and a bibliography of books and newspaper articles (and one radio show). The end papers are illustrated with a map of the area covered by the sled dogs.

Verdict: It's interesting to see an account of Balto that attempts to set the record straight on this confusing historical event. However, there's a lot of confusing speculation in the book - the contrast between the presentation of "facts" in the story and the author's discussion of how unreliable those facts are is jarring. While I enjoyed McCarthy's illustrations in Pop! The Invention of Bubblegum, they really didn't fit this story; when it is so focused on finding the truth behind the story, seeing the artist's imagined pictures of how things might have looked is incongruous. A good idea, but too many discordant elements.

ISBN: 978-0375844607; Published August 2009 by Knopf; Borrowed from the library