CM Magazine: Bomo and the Beef Snacks: A Story of Friendship and Promises Along the Iditarod Trail.

________________ CM . . . . Volume VIII Number 7 . . . . November 30, 2001

cover Bomo and the Beef Snacks: A Story of Friendship and Promises Along the Iditarod Trail.
Jim Derrickson.
Markham, ON: Scholastic Canada, 2001.
32 pp., cloth, $19.99.
ISBN 0-439-98775-X.
Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 4-7.

Review by Ruth McMahon.

* /4

exerpt:

It was late winter. Johnny and Rhonda got out their sled. It was time to run the Iditarod race to Nome.

"All ready?" the children asked the dogs.

"Woof!" came the reply from Bomo. "Woof!" said all the other dogs.

They howled for joy, ready to run to Nome.

The beef snacks had been left behind. Bomo and the team of sled dogs knew they could continue to Nome without delicious beef snacks, but the treats were waiting for them just halfway back to Anchorage. Besides, the children were bound to their promise: to make sure that the dogs would always have beef snacks to enjoy. And sharing beef snacks with their friends was even more important than getting to Nome or winning the race.

Why, it was the most important thing of all.

Johnny and Rhonda solemnly promise to provide Bomo and his team with beef snacks to enjoy, at every stage of the race. This a pact and we will not break it. Johnny Rhonda

The Iditarod race has always fascinated, amazed and astounded me. This 1150 mile race from Anchorage to Nome Alaska, by a team of 12 to 16 dogs and their musher, takes place over 10 to 17 days. I am in awe of the courage, resourcefulness, and knowledge of Mother Nature the drivers of these dog teams possess, and of the fortitude and training of the dogs that pull the sleds. I was looking forward to reading this picture book about a topic that has long captured my imagination and sense of adventure.

The story is about a team of dogs lead by Bomo and Johnny and Rhonda, two children who drive the team. On the way to Nome, Johnny and Rhonda stop over night and eat beef snacks with their dogs. The next day along the trail, the children realize they have left the snacks at their camp. They decide they cannot break their promise to the dogs, and they race back, get the snacks and manage to win the race.

I am not sure what this book is about and therefore find it difficult to comment on it. It may be a fantasy about the Iditarod, or, as the subtitle suggests, "A story of friendship and promises along the Iditarod Trail," or a book that takes lightly the challenges of this severe test of human and animal endurance. Or, judging from the dedication, "To all the breedless Bomos whose names have never become known, and to those in particular who have made their final home at the Matanusk-Susitna Borough Animal Shelter, Palmer, Alaska, United States," it could be a book celebrating the animals who run this race.

As you can see from the sample text, the writing style is trite, and the sentence structure laborious, and as you can also see from the last line of the sample text, there appears to be a word missing, "This a pact and we will not break it." The plot is confusing. The children and the dogs are lost in storms and follow wind-blown moonbeams through the forest. Then they hurry down a rope to get back to the trail.

The illustrations are rudimentary but not without charm. They were drawn in pencil on vellum and colourized by Chrissie Whysotski.

There are many other books on the Iditarod that offer a more direct approach to the subject. I wanted to like this book but found it lacking.

Not Recommended.

Ruth McMahon worked as a professional children's librarian for 13 years and is currently co-chairing Alberta's Rocky Mountain Book Award. She has long been fascinated by the Iditarod and has coveted the t-shirt she found in Alaska that reads, "Alaska, where men are men and women win the Iditarod."

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

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