Written and Illustrated by Monica Carnesi
Published by Nancy Paulsen Books in 2012
ISBN 978-0-399-25666-0
ISBN 978-0-399-25666-0
Book Review
“Something is moving
in the water! What is it?” It is a dog - a dog adrift on rapidly moving ice
floes along Poland’s Vistual River. Children are the first to spot Dog and they
call firemen who brave the frigid waters in a rescue attempt. But the current
is moving too quickly and soon Dog floats out into the open Baltic Sea. Two
days after first being spotted, Dog is rescued by the crew of the research
vessel R/V Baltica. With text spare,
yet precise enough to support a beginning reader, Monica Carnesi’s debut
picture book relays this compelling rescue story with both drama and charm. At
the tense moment of almost-rescue, Carnesi’s text anxiously reads, “But dog slips. / He falls into the water./
Oh no! Where is Dog?,” A pair of illustrations that depict dog’s terror are
followed by an image of the now empty ice floe; however, careful viewers will
be reassured by dog’s tiny paws clinging to the edge of the ice. Phew…. Varying
perspectives in the watercolor, pen, and ink illustrations add visual interest
throughout this edge of your seat story of rescue at sea. A map on the
endpapers provides perspective on the more than 75 mile harrowing journey undertaken by this
appealing pup. Inspired by true events in 2010, this heart warming story will leave
you with new appreciation for the phrase “all’s well that ends well.”
All Ages
Teaching Ideas:
Invitations for Your Classroom
More About Baltic. The
links below in Further Explanations will provide you and your students with
additional information about Baltic, his journey down the Vistula River and his
subsequent adoption by the crew of the R/V
Baltica. After reading the book aloud and prior to exploring these
resources, you might choose to have your students generate a list of questions
about the events. Then, explore the resources to see how many of their questions
are answered. One question that remains unanswered: how this dog
became stranded on the ice floe? Invite your students to speculate on this
question.
How Far did Baltic Travel?
Using the map on the endpapers, help students to gain an understanding of how
far and for how long Baltic traveled on the ice flow. You could ask students to
locate on the map a geographic area that is 75 miles away from your school. You
could also estimate the rate at which the ice floe was traveling – this will be
an extremely rough estimate.
Animals Who Live on Ice.
While Dog’s life was threatened by his circumstances, some animals are uniquely
adapted for life among ice and ice floes. Use the titles listed under Further
Explorations below to learn about these animals and their structural
characteristics and habits that allow them to live in this uniquely challenging
environment. You may also want to research dogs who live in arctic environments
and their relationships with people who live in these areas.
Rescuing Dogs. While
Baltic’s need to be rescued is dramatic and obvious, there are dogs in all of
our communities who experience difficult circumstances. Invite your class to
learn more about the responsibilities of pet ownership. Arrange physical or
skype visits from someone who works at an animal shelter worker and from
someone who has adopted a pet. Learn more about the work of breed Rescue
organizations. You may want to read Maggie’s
Second Chance, The Blue House Dog,
The Stray Dog, and A Home for Dixie to extend this
discussion (see Further Explorations below for full bibliographic information).
Unique Dogs.
Assemble a text set of books featuring dogs with unique stories or special
talents, including, for example, titles such as Owney, The Mail Pouch Pooch, Jake
the Philharmonic Dog, and Calico Dorsey:
Mail Dog of the Mining Camps.
Compare the attributes and accomplishments of these dogs by creating a
comparison chart.
Creating Drama in
Writing: Rescue Stories. Read Little
Dog Lost along with other stories that feature dramatic rescues. (see
Further Explorations below for some suggestions). How do authors use language
and illustrators use images to convey the tension and emotion associated with a
rescue? Ask students to create lists of words and phrases that create a sense
of drama. How do illustrators create tension in images? How do they use
perspective to dramatize events? After careful study of many examples, ask your
students to try writing a ‘rescue’ story, either fictional or based on real
events.
Principles of
Illustration. What makes a picture work? After reading Molly Bang’s book Picture This (see below) either with
your class or to build your own knowledge, explore some of the principles of
illustration with your class. As a class, model the application of these
principles by dissecting the illustrations in Little Dog, Lost. Ideally, you would examine the illustrations
using a document camera to project the images. How did Carnesi create emotional
impact through the use of color, line, page breaks, and perspective? Gather a
collection of Caldecott Winning books (such as Mark Simont’s The Stray Dog and Chris Raschka’s A Ball for Daisy) How do the other
illustrators also use some of Bang’s techniques, but to achieve illustrations
with a very different mood and tone?
Critical Literacy
Comparing Newspaper
Versions of the Rescue. In the Further Explorations section below you will
find several different news sources reporting on Baltic’s rescue. Ask students
to compare these news reports. How do these authors relay the story of Baltic’s
rescue. Are there details that appear in all the stories? How are the stories
different from one another? What do students notice about word choice,
structure, and organization across these news stories? Consider also the fact
that this event became global news. Why? And how? How does news travel across
the globe?
Further Explorations
Monica Carnesi’s Website
Monica Carnesi’s Blog: Getting to Know Baltic
YouTube: Dog on the Ice Float
Los Angeles Times: Polish research ship's crew adopts dog
rescued from Baltic Sea ice floe
BBC: Lucky Rescue for Dog Stranded on Ice Floe
ITN News: Rescued Pooch Becomes Sea Dog
Associated Press Archive: Poland Dog
Bang, M. (2000). Picture
this: How pictures work. New York: SeaStar Books.
Blumenthal, D. (2010). The
blue house dog. Ill. by A. Gustavson. Atlanta: Peachtree.
Furstinger, N. (2011). Maggie’s
second chance: a gentle dog’s rescue. Ill by J. Hyatt. Edina, MN: Gryphon
Press.
Goodman, Susan E. (2006). Life on the ice. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press.
Hodge, D. (2008). Polar
animals. Ill. by P. Stephens. Toronto: Kids Can Press.
Jackson, E. (2008). A
home for Dixie: The true story of a rescued puppy. Photos by B. Carey. New
York: Collins.
Kerby, M. (2008). Owney,
The mail pouch pooch. Ill. by L. Barasch. New York: Farrar, Straus, &
Giroux.
LeFrak, K. (2006). Jake
the Philharmonic dog. Ill. by M. Baranski. New York: Walker & Co.
Lendroth, S. (2010). Calico
Dorsey: Mail dog of the mining camps. Ill. by S. Lendroth. Berkeley:
Tricycle Press.
Markle, S. (2012). Waiting
for ice. Ill. by A. Marks. Cambridge, MA: Charlesbridge.
Markle, S. (2009). Animal
heroes: True rescue stories. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press.
Martin, J.B. (2001). The
lamp, the ice, and a boat called fish: Based on a true story. Ill. by B.
Krommes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Riddles, L. (2002). Storm run: The story of the first woman
to win the Iditarod sled dog race. Ill by S. Cartwright. Seattle, WA: Sasquatch
Books.
Simont, M. (2001). The
stray dog. New York: Harper Collins
Turner, P.S. (2004). Hachiko:
The true story of a loyal dog. Ill. by Y. Nascimbene. Boston: Houghton
Miffilin.
Winter, J. (2006). Mama:
A true story in which a baby hippo loses his mama during the tsunami, but finds
a new home and a new mama. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.
Wood, T. (1996). Dusty
and his sled dogs compete in Alaska’s Jr. Iditarod. New York: Walker.
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