Rebecca loves nothing more than to be out on the trail with her huskies on a sled. She dreams of leading a team in a race one day, and when her change comes, she really wants to prove to her dad that even though she’s only twelve, she can do it.

Dogsled Dreams by Terry Lynn Johnson is a fascinating look at the life of a musher. Rebecca puts in a lot of time with her dogs, feeding them, cleaning up after them and making sure they’re safe for the night. She also has to learn about dangers on the trail, like running in extreme cold and white-out conditions, and encountering wild animals on the trail. She knows that her dogs have to trust her, and she has to trust them, if they want to stay safe on a run.

Dogsled Dreams is a great book for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 9 to 12. Becca is confident, and she’s also willing to put in a lot of work to get what she wants. The dogsledding details are interesting, and they carry the story along without bogging it down. Moms and daughters can also talk about taking on responsibility and setting goals to work towards a dream.

The author has a great teacher’s guide that can be downloaded from her website. The guide can help book club members generate discussion questions. You’ll also a find a few fun facts about dogsledding, more information about the author and lots of other interesting tidbits when you visit: terrylynnjohnson.com.