As sled dog fever spreads through Marquette, the Peter White Public Library is ready to provide patrons with a ready supply of materials for U.P. 200 fans of all ages.

Riding the Runners: The Annual Heartbeat of Marquette, Michigan by Jan M. Sabin gives an inside look at all the details that make the U.P. 200 happen. Sabin includes equipment lists, maps, photographs, commentary and poetry to give readers a complete look at the race.

The Disney movie Balto will be shown at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Community Room and is available for checkout on VHS and DVD. Based on a true story, Balto is the lead dog for a dogsled team that must travel more than 50 miles to deliver serum to help combat a diphtheria epidemic in Nome, Alaska. Beginning readers may also enjoy The Bravest Dog Ever: the True Story of Balto by Natalie Standiford.

In The Great Serum Race: Blazing the Iditarod Trail, Debbie Miller tells the story from a more historical point of view. This picture book for older children tells how the run was actually a relay, completed by many mushers and teams (a chart showing the name of the musher and the distance covered is included in the back of the book). The picture book Togo by Robert Blake tells the story from the point of view of a lead dog who ran a larger section of the trail (350 miles to Balto's 53 miles).

The latest Disney dogsled movie, Snow Buddies, will entertain the younger set. It features five retriever puppies who travel to Alaska and befriend a young dog musher and his husky puppy, Shasta.

The Youth Services Department has copies of three picture book titles by local author and musher Jackie Winkowski. Her books Miki's Challenge, Miki's Race and Smokey's Run feature photographs from Snowy Plains, her kennel in Sands Township.

Wind-Wild Dog by Barbara Joose and illustrated by Kate Kiesler tells the story of Ziva, a skittish pup who is taken in and trained by a wilderness dog musher. The beautiful painted illustrations help create an engaging picture book for kindergarten through third-graders.

Older children interested in adventure will enjoy Roddy Doyle's Wilderness. Set in Finland, two brothers embark on a dog sledding tour and make a daring dash to rescue their mother when she goes missing.

Adults interested in a little escapist fiction with a dog mushing theme will enjoy On Thin Ice by Cherry Adair. As the veterinarian heroine prepares to run the Iditarod, she is being wooed by rancher/secret agent and past race champion Derek Wright. Is he as she suspects actually Mr. Wrong, or will he win her heart?

The adult nonfiction collection houses several real-life dog sledding adventures. Titles include Alone Across the Arctic: One Woman's Epic Journey by Dog Team by Pam Flowers, Yukon Alone: the World's Toughest Adventure Race by John Balzar, and Honest Dogs: a Story of Triumph and Regret From the World's Toughest Sled Dog Race by Brian Patrick O'Donoghue.

For those interested in learning the latest from the experts on how to raise and train a team of their own, the library maintains a subscription to Mushing Magazine.

- Ellen Moore

Youth Services assistant