In this true story of a baby who survives the Alaska wilderness in 1917, "the Rands inspire a desire to linger as well as a hushed anticipation of what lies next," said PW. Ages 3-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Ages 4^-8. Rand's story is based on an actual incident in the life of Marie Boyer, Alaska's first kindergarten teacher. During the winter of 1917, Boyer left Fairbanks for Seattle with her two small daughters. When their sleigh overturned, her four-month-old baby was lost. Forced by the weather to abandon the search, Marie and the sleigh driver sought shelter. While they were warming themselves at a nearby roadhouse, two trappers appeared: they had found a basket floating down the river with a healthy, fur-wrapped baby inside. The single dramatic episode is exciting, though the story doesn't build enough suspense or wonder to bear repeated readings, and some younger children may find the situation a bit too frightening, even with the miraculous rescue. The atmospheric illustrations are quite nicely done: midnight-blue snowscapes, clouds of frozen breath, and hazy, lamplit interiors convey the heightening drama of the text. --Shelley Townsend-Hudson

Adventure and high drama unfurl in this true story that carries all the seeds of tragedy, but ends happily. In the harsh Alaskan winter of 1917, a mother and her two young children, baby Ann and three-year old Betty, climbed into a horse-drawn sleigh, hoping to spend the winter in the kinder climate of Washington. During a violent snow storm, the horses tossed and scattered the passengers; Betty was pulled out from a swift current under ice, but baby Ann was swept away. Later in the day, two trappers found the baby in a basket floating down the icy river, and returned her, unharmed, to her mother. It's a story of miracle, hardship, survival, and hope that is strongly enhanced by the author's suspenseful telling and the illustrator's exquisite winter scenes. His art is full of detail, from the red-cheeked, cherry-nosed travelers, to the cold clouds puffing from the horse's nostrils, to the evident ferocity of the winter storm. (Picture book. 4-8)

Gr 1-3‘Using a true story from 1917 Alaska, the Rands have created a perfect marriage of text and illustration. Traveling from Fairbanks to Seattle in midwinter, Marie Boyer and her two daughters, Betty and Ann, are among passengers and freight tossed into an icebound river when the horses pulling their big sleigh panic. Betty is pulled under the ice and Ann, in her snug basket, vanishes in the Arctic dark. Rescued, Betty and the other passengers are comforted at a nearby lodge while a desperate search is mounted to find Ann. At the last moment, two trappers arrive to a joyous reception, carrying basket and baby Ann, discovered sliding down the river atop the ice, pushed by the freezing wind. Gloria Rand's detailed, dramatic text is well matched by Ted Rand's robustly wintry illustrations, and presents the hardships faced by Alaskan pioneers in a manner comprehensible to the young. Almost unbelievable in these days of jet planes and superhighways, this gripping tale of near tragedy will enrich a social studies curriculum. Even more, though, it's an exciting "good read."‘Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Three-year-old Betty and baby Ann are traveling with their mother by sled from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Seattle in January 1917 when the horses bolt and their sled plunges into an icy river. Miraculously, they all survive. The tilty perspectives and sharp light/dark contrasts of Rand's watercolors heighten the drama of this frightening winter's tale. An author's note tells the true story on which the text is based. From HORN BOOK 1997, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.