SUN DOG

At the top of the world in the Arctic Circle, a young sled dog, Juno, seeks adventure.

Juno was born as the sun started to shine brightly over the tundra both day and night. The puppy loves her boy and spending their days together kayaking and playing near the shore. However, watching the neighbor’s big sled dogs practice pulling a sled makes Juno want to do the same. And summer can be frustrating. How can Juno be expected to sleep with the sun shining around the clock? Bored, the puppy escapes outside while her boy and his family sleep. She soon discovers that being the only one awake is boring—when it’s not dangerous. Scared by an owl, she races back home only to find her family is in worse danger from a polar bear. Juno barks so loudly she summons help, saving her family—and learning a good lesson. Kerbel weaves facts about the Arctic Circle within a tender story of the devotion between a boy and his dog. Del Rizzo’s vibrant, colorful polymer clay and acrylics capture the beauty of their home. The modeled clay gives Juno, the boy, and environs a sculptural, tactile quality. The boy has beige skin and black hair, there is an inuksuk in one picture, and their town is a tidy one of wood-frame houses.

Juno may be a puppy in the Arctic Circle, but children everywhere will relate to her