Hello Boys and Girls!

I wanted to give you a quick update about the musher sign ups. The last day that mushers can sign up for the race is 5:00 P.M on November 30, 2007. That is in just a few days! I like to predict how many mushers will sign up and then predict how many mushers will be at the start of the race. A predication is sort of like a guess. Usually the guess is based on facts and information. Information could be the number of mushers that signed up last year. What are your predictions?

Now is also a good time to start reading the musher bios and learning all about each musher. You can find the information at the 2008 Iditarod menu tab on the home page of our website by clicking the menu item, “Musher Listing”. I know many of you will be picking your favorite mushers and following the mushers during the race so I suggest that you start reading about the mushers because they are interesting humans who all have something important in common. Canines! (K-9)

As I read about each musher, I like to list all the ‘other’ jobs that the mushers have or have had in past years. It is also fun to make lists of all the locations that are mentioned in the bios. There are so many interesting things to read about on the website that I get lost in reading for hours! Reading about the mushers is as good as reading a book! You should get started with the reading today. Maybe your teacher will even let you count it as a book for a book report or let you count the minutes you read for your daily reading totals. I know lots of boys and girls who have to keep tack of their reading. Reading is reading, books, magazines, newspapers, and the Iditarod website. Teachers love to hear that you are reading. Start reading!

By the way, there are lots of good books about Iditarod, Alaska, and mushing. What is your favorite book and why? Tell me about it in the comment section of this blog.

Have you ever read a book to your pet? Pets make good listeners. They love to listen to all kinds of books. You should try it sometime!

Well, I’m off to read a ‘good musher bio’ and then I’ll head to the library to check out some books!

Lots of Tail Wags,

Zuma