A Sled Dog for Moshi

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Moshi wants a dog of her own—not a sled dog like the huskies she is
used to, rather a smart little terrier like the one that belongs to
Jessica, her friend from the city. Unfortunately, there are no other
dogs in Moshi’s village except sled dogs, and those are kept as
working dogs.

When spring arrives, Moshi and Jessica walk to a distant ridge to pick
wildflowers. They are caught in a sudden blizzard and only Moshi’s
winter survival skills get them to a remote storage shed. There they
find Nuna, a missing sled dog, who has just had puppies. Leaving her
puppies with Moshi, Nuna goes off for help. Soon, Moshi’s father
arrives on a snowmobile. For saving Jessica, Moshi’s father says she
can have a puppy as a pet. Moshi decides that her puppy will be a smart
sled dog just like Nuna.

Jeanne Bushey’s tale is a story about the tension between traditional
Inuit values and modern values. Moshi and her father have very different
visions of what a dog is for. Through the near tragedy, however, each
comes to respect what the other thinks as they reach a mutually
acceptable compromise.

Germaine Arnaktauyok’s colored-pencil illustrations give an added
authenticity to the story; during the blizzard the wind seems to whistle
right out of the pages. Highly recommended.