Avalanche Dog Heroes

Piper and Friends Learn to Search the Snow

Look inside
Hardcover
$18.99 US
11.08"W x 8.77"H x 0.41"D  
On sale Oct 16, 2018 | 48 Pages | 9781632171733
Grades 2-5
Reading Level: Lexile 840L | Fountas & Pinnell Q
Junior Library Guild Selection!
2020 Towner Book Award Finalist
Oregon Spirit Award Honor Book

Follow Piper the border collie and her canine classmates through a season of avalanche rescue training. As they learn the skills they need to become snow rescue dogs, you'll learn about the work these amazing canines do and about avalanche safety.


Avalanche Dog Heroes is a nonfiction picture book illustrated with stunning, adorable photography that draws parallels between kids' experiences in elementary school and the training days of the avalanche rescue dogs of Crystal Mountain, Washington State's largest ski resort, located in the Cascade Range.

Follow along with Piper, a friendly border collie who came to the mountain as a smart but timid shelter dog, terrified by everything, as she confidently heads off to school on a chairlift to meet her canine classmates. Over a season they romp together through the snow, learning and practicing the skills they need to be avalanche rescue dogs and earn their rescue certification.

You'll also learn the warning signs and conditions that cause an avalanche, the four types of avalanches, and the basics of avalanche safety.
ELIZABETH RUSCH has published more than 100 magazine articles for children and adults and 10 award-winning books for young readers, including Ready, Set . . . Baby!Volcano Rising; Eruption!: Volcanoes and the Science of Saving Lives; and Electrical Wizard: How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World. Her work has been honored by the Junior Library Guild, ALA, School Library JournalKirkus, NBC News, the Oregon Book Award, Washington Reads, and the New York Public Library. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, two terrific kids, and one very funny, quirky dog named Reba.
"The full-color, full-bleed photographs are the book’s best features. Almost every spread captures a dynamic dog training scene amid beautiful snowscapes."--School Library Journal

"Present-tense narration paired with dynamic color photographs puts readers in the moment with Piper ... A peppy introduction to a lesser-known type of worker dog." --Kirkus Reviews

"Rusch emphasizes how the training of the dogs is both hard work and fun—a point made clear through photographs of Piper dashing through the snow, chewing on toys, and embracing Cohen."--Publishers Weekly

"Avalanche Dog Heroes is a fine addition to any collection. Display it prominently and it won't sit."--ProseandKahn


"Of special note is that with "Avalanche Dog Heroes", children will also learn the warning signs and conditions that cause an avalanche, the four types of avalanches, and the basics of avalanche safety, making it an especially welcome and unreservedly recommended addition to family, elementary school, and community library Pets/Wildlife picture book collections."--Midwest Book Review

"With great pictures, cute dogs, and something unique to learn about…this book is a winner for winter!" --The Delphos Herald

About

Junior Library Guild Selection!
2020 Towner Book Award Finalist
Oregon Spirit Award Honor Book

Follow Piper the border collie and her canine classmates through a season of avalanche rescue training. As they learn the skills they need to become snow rescue dogs, you'll learn about the work these amazing canines do and about avalanche safety.


Avalanche Dog Heroes is a nonfiction picture book illustrated with stunning, adorable photography that draws parallels between kids' experiences in elementary school and the training days of the avalanche rescue dogs of Crystal Mountain, Washington State's largest ski resort, located in the Cascade Range.

Follow along with Piper, a friendly border collie who came to the mountain as a smart but timid shelter dog, terrified by everything, as she confidently heads off to school on a chairlift to meet her canine classmates. Over a season they romp together through the snow, learning and practicing the skills they need to be avalanche rescue dogs and earn their rescue certification.

You'll also learn the warning signs and conditions that cause an avalanche, the four types of avalanches, and the basics of avalanche safety.

Author

ELIZABETH RUSCH has published more than 100 magazine articles for children and adults and 10 award-winning books for young readers, including Ready, Set . . . Baby!Volcano Rising; Eruption!: Volcanoes and the Science of Saving Lives; and Electrical Wizard: How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World. Her work has been honored by the Junior Library Guild, ALA, School Library JournalKirkus, NBC News, the Oregon Book Award, Washington Reads, and the New York Public Library. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, two terrific kids, and one very funny, quirky dog named Reba.

Praise

"The full-color, full-bleed photographs are the book’s best features. Almost every spread captures a dynamic dog training scene amid beautiful snowscapes."--School Library Journal

"Present-tense narration paired with dynamic color photographs puts readers in the moment with Piper ... A peppy introduction to a lesser-known type of worker dog." --Kirkus Reviews

"Rusch emphasizes how the training of the dogs is both hard work and fun—a point made clear through photographs of Piper dashing through the snow, chewing on toys, and embracing Cohen."--Publishers Weekly

"Avalanche Dog Heroes is a fine addition to any collection. Display it prominently and it won't sit."--ProseandKahn


"Of special note is that with "Avalanche Dog Heroes", children will also learn the warning signs and conditions that cause an avalanche, the four types of avalanches, and the basics of avalanche safety, making it an especially welcome and unreservedly recommended addition to family, elementary school, and community library Pets/Wildlife picture book collections."--Midwest Book Review

"With great pictures, cute dogs, and something unique to learn about…this book is a winner for winter!" --The Delphos Herald

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

On Monday, June 10th, Penguin Random House Education and DK Learning co-hosted a Reading with Purpose Summit Event in collaboration with Molly Ness, PhD. The event took place at Penguin Random House’s NYC headquarters and included sessions featuring leading education experts and a lunchtime author panel. The in-person professional learning event was built to show

Read more

2024 Elementary School Collection

The Penguin Random House Education Elementary School Collection features outstanding fiction, nonfiction, and picture books from Penguin Young Reader’s, Random House Children’s, DK, and Grupo Editorial, as well as children’s publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Explore online or download this valuable resource to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: Leveled Readers,

Read more

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

Thank you for your interest in DK Learning | Phonic Books. To download the DK Learning | Phonic Books sampler with four complete readers, please click here and complete the form. Once your information is successfully submitted, a link to download the sampler will be provided on the confirmation screen.   Click here to learn

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more