Pam's Reviews > The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic

As a primary grade teacher much of my life, I had the good fortune of reading The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto with many first and second grade children. Natalie Standiford wrote a simple, but compelling tale of the dog sled teams and their drivers who brought diphtheria serum to Nome, Alaska to halt the spread of an epidemic. Many children are so taken in by the story, that emerging readers become bona fide readers as a result of being immersed in this story, simply told. The Cruelest Miles afforded me the opportunity to understand this piece of history in its grown-up political, cultural and human contexts. After the United States acquired Alaska from Russia, we apparently were fairly inept at supporting its inhabitants in terms of building infrastructure, supporting home rule, and basically honoring the culture of the indigenous people who knew how to survive in this most inhospitable environment. Luckily, the wisdom of the native Eskimo, miner and trapper populations prevailed and the serum was sent across the vast interior via dog sled relay teams rather than trying to fly it to Nome or ship it there from Seattle. Balto was the lead dog for the final team that actually delivered the serum to Nome. However, there were many teams and many drivers; their stories are heroic. The Cruelest Miles provides much historical context, but also rich snapshots of traditional Eskimo life. There's also a significant description of the origins of the Iditarod.

I learned so many things from reading this book, but two fascinating facts that stood out to me were the origin of the word "mush" (it comes from the French "marche or marchons" meaning go forward) and that in Canada, the word Eskimo is something of a derogatory term, but in Alaska, it is acceptable.

I recommend this book, especially to teachers who would like background information about Balto, the dog sled teams and the serum run or on the Iditarod.