The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto (Step into Reading)

My daughter is below grade level in reading, she's 6 and in 1st grade. The Step Into Reading level books take the guesswork out of buying books for her. As she's really taken off reading and grown a interest in it in the last few months with the last adjustment to her medication, we're in a position where we need to upgrade most of her books as she's quickly mastering the library we've had since she was much younger. We discovered the Step Into Reading books a few weeks ago.The 2nd step is right at her level and she can read them almost completely independently, only needing the occasional assistance with words she's unfamiliar with. Our local store didn't have much in the way of step 3 books however. I was excited to find so very many more options online for her. We're looking forward to expanding both her collection of step 2 books and gathering a collection of step 3 books for her to grow into in the next few months.Now, for this book specifically-I grew up in Anchorage, Alaska so the story of Balto is close to my heart. I was taught it young and every year I'd go to the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. Now I have a daughter of my own but we've moved out of Alaska. This is one of the very few memories of my childhood I cherish and I'd honestly not realized how much it bothered me to not have the ability to pass that experience on to my daughter.Then I saw this book. Level 3, just a bit too advanced for her on her own but maybe in a few months she'll be there. And until then, we can read it together. The art is beautiful and I was excited to see some of the people illustrated with features commonly seen in Native Alaskans. It tells the story of Balto historically, with dates but doesn't make the story dry. I love that they name the illness that struck None, it named the city of Anchorage and gave trail distances, had a map showing the trail and names of the rest points.I would have liked if the ending showed instead of the Central Park statue of Balto it showed the one in Anchorage, Alaska but that's always been a annoyance for me regardless of the retelling of the story. Every summer people visit Anchorage and are surprised to see a Balto Statue.

My 7-yr old son requested this book when he was in the hospital for two weeks recovering from meningitis.It's the story of balto, a real life rescue husky, who goes on a mission to deliver life saving medicine to a sick little girl before it was too late. He accomplished the mission. The story is just right for little kids, esp those who need a bit of encouragement. I bought my son a stuffed husky to go with it, and we bought the complete set of Balto DVDs on Amazon to take to the hospital too. My little guy has recovered well and has very fond memories of Balto, and still enjoys the book and movies.

I read this book to my six year old grandson. He loved it! He had a gazillion questions and we were able to engage in a wonderful conversation about diphtheria (!), sled dogs, Alaska, and the statue in Central Park which I've promised to take him to see. A wonderfully well told tale, with terrific illustrations. There is also a film (or two, haven't seen them). The film depicts Balto as half wolf, half dog, apparently that was a "dramatic creation".Great book!

The true story of Balto, The Greatest Dog Ever has every element needed to keep children interested and entertained. Beginning readers will find this bit of history full of adventure. In Alaska during the 1925 blizzard, sled dogs are the only mode of transportation with a remote chance of getting the vaccine for an outbreak of diphtheria from Anchorage to Nome.The details regarding the care of sled dogs will interest readers. The danger of the elements and difficulty of the trip adds suspense. The ending is satisfying as Standiford shows how Balto saved day as well as how he is remembered with a statue of him in New York's Central Park.

The True Story of Balto is about a courageous, intelligent, and heroic dog who transports medication to children in desperate need. He faces some of the worst winter conditions imaginable on his journey.I purchased the Kindle version of this book for a project my second grader has to complete. I love that the book is written in a manner that is easy-to-understand. The illustrations make it more engaging for young readers, while the chapter set up prepares them for the transition to full-blown chapter books.My son and I both loved this book. We're a dog-loving bunch here, so this book really captivated us and touched our hearts. We've spent quite a bit of time researching Balto since we finished the story, and my son has shown a keen interest in this wonderful canine hero. Tonight, we intend to watch the Balto animated children's movie together.Highly recommended for young readers.

Such a great story for all children in pre-K who are at the age to appreciate pets. I wish the story was longer as Balto's journey was a real struggle and a journey that required real stamina and courage. Perhaps this book for pre-pre K and then the movie for pre-K and K. All books on the courage and love animals demonstrate should be the books read in early childhood classes-------leaving Kermit and Big Bird for home television watching. School should be a learning experience at all times. Stories of courageous animals are the best stories for young children before the age of six Both home and school are good venues for these learning experiences.

Bought this as part of our Alaska cruise vacation... we were going to see dog mushing so it put understanding around it for the kids prior to us going to the dog camp. It was a bit of an easy reader for my kids and their age, but I knew that prior to purchasing. I just wanted a quick book that we could read together in one sitting and then discuss. This did just that.We loved Balto.

My 8 year old son loves reading non-fiction books (moreso having them read to him) and this one was a winner for sure. He also can struggle to want to read so any book that makes him want to read is a 5 star in my book. He found it exciting and interesting and loved the storyline.

Pristine copy. Excellent

Tout à fait abordable comme niveau d'anglais pour etre lu avec ma.fille de 6eme. Je veux absolument lui introduire l'anglais comme une évidence non négociable et un impératif a la vie de notre époque ! Je n'attends pour cela pas après le système éducatif français qui hélas ne peut se vanter d'avoir formé les meilleurs bilingues!Cette collection est super car reprend des histoires légendes faits historiques ou oeuvres littéraires célèbres et en fait des synthèses très bien réalisées. On obtient donc une motivation certaine à comprendre absolument ce qui est écrit ! L'histoire de Balto est ici une superbe motivation en effet car l'histoire est vraie meme si romancée. On ne s'ennuie pas un instant et on oublie même la barrière de la langue. Comme je suis quasi bilingue c'est très facile pour moi de communiquer l'amour de l'anglais mais elle se rend bien compte que la traduction est un jeu très agréable !!

Una storia sempre bella, un romanzo tratto da un fatto realmente accaduto, in una versione per bambini in lingua inglese, un po corto, semplice, discrete illustrazioni, per imparare la lingua ottimo per un bambino di 6/7 anni

A great way to introduce the topic of dog sledding and the history of working animals.

Wundervolle Darstellung der wahren Geschichte von Balto, dem Schlittenhund der viele Kinder retten konnte. Die Illustrationen sind gut, man lernt etwas über die Zeit und Welt von Balto, sehr gelungenes Buch, dass von den Kindern geliebt wird. Wunderbar wenn echte Geschichten so funktionieren.