By Jason Barron (Kanabear Books, $15.99)
The blurb: The story of a young boy growing up in a poverty-striken bush village, where he learns to hunt and trap and eventually mushes in the Iditarod.
Excerpt: "At twelve years of age, The Boy was lean and hard, and bore his scars in silence. He looked onto the world with an eye much older than his paltry count of seasons would imply, and his mouth seldom, if ever, curved in an upwards direction. The day his little cousin was attacked by the wolf, the two of them were walking down the narrow mud path to the spring to fetch water in greasy five gallon buckets. There was no warning save a little barking from the dog lot back up the hill. One second Little Cousin was chattering happily at The Boy's heels; and the next he was not."
Dogsled Dreams
By Terry Lynn Johnson (4 RV Publishing)
The blurb: An inventive but self-doubting musher, 12-year-old Rebecca dreams of becoming a famous sled dog racer.
Excerpt: "Rebecca whipped past snow-covered spruce, their dark trunks only a few feet from her on either side. The sled hit a ridge on the trail and flew, airborne for a giddy moment before it crunched back down.
"Who needs roller coasters when you've got sled dogs, thought Rebecca. She grinned and felt her face crinkle in the cold air."
Musk Ox Magic
By Carol Nash Reed (Snowstorm Press, $9.95)
The blurb: Nathan, Maddy and Makayla are in for a surprise when they go to bed and find a musk ox in their closet.
Excerpt: "One night, when all was still and quiet, Makayla opened her closet door and saw a musk ox standing inside! It was Becky, one of the musk ox mothers from their herd.
"Becky looked at Makayla kindly and gently swayed her head from side to side. Makayla smiled and hung up her green sweater on Becky's long curving horns.
" 'Goodnight, Becky,' said Makayla."
-- Compiled by Matt Sullivan, Anchorage Daily News
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