A BOOK YOU MAY LIKE
What’s Up teams up with TIMES READS to bring you an interesting book each month. Every story reflects a value that is part of your Character and Citizenship Education (CCE).
April and her family have recently moved to Svalbard. It is a cold, remote place near the North Pole. Here, the air is crisp and wild polar bears and reindeer roam the rugged terrain of snow and ice.
April loves her new home. After school, she helps out at Hedda’s dog yard. Hedda runs a business offering dog sled adventures to visiting tourists.
One evening, April takes the snowmobile to Hedda’s as usual. Hopping off the vehicle, she unbolts the gate and steps into the yard. She hears 42 huskies howling at the same time. The noise is deafening.
“Hello, friends!” April calls out happily and joins in the doggy chorus. She gives some of the dogs belly rubs before going off to look for Hedda.
Hedda is in a fenced-off section of the yard, standing by a solitary kennel. “A new husky,” she says, “I picked him up today.”
Hedda had adopted the dog from a friend who runs a similar business. He had said it was no good as a sled dog. The new husky stays in his kennel as April watches. After a long while, a paw appears, followed by another. Then, a black nose pokes out tentatively.
Cautiously, the husky steps out. April is struck by his beauty. Most other huskies are a mix of black, brown, and grey. This husky has a beautiful white coat with a dusting of light grey. His eyes are intensely blue.
“A classic purebred Siberian,” Hedda remarks.
“Poor thing,” April whispers, “I wonder what his story is?”
Heda shrugs. “I suspect he had a few bad experiences. Dogs like that become distrustful of people.”
April decides to help the husky. She names him Blaze. It takes her many weeks to win his trust. Slowly, Blaze starts to respond. He lets her harness him to a sled with the other huskies. They go for short training runs together. Hedda is impressed.
Hedda is an experienced dog sled racer. She has been training hard for the Polar Race with her special team of race huskies. The long-distance race will be held in Svalbard in a few weeks’ time. Racers expect the conditions to be tough.
One day, Hedda suffers a bad fall while training. April decides to take her place in the race. April is new to racing. She trains hard with Hedda’s race dogs under the seasoned racer’s watchful eye. After training, April makes time for Blaze.
As race day draws near, Hedda’s team of race huskies are ready to go. Blaze is not part of the race team, but he seems excited to run. April wonders if she should swap one of the race dogs for Blaze. She knows this is not in Hedda’s plan.
Read The Lone Husky by Hannah Gold to find out how April’s adventure unfolds.
CONTEST: WHICH HUSKY?
Blaze the husky was deemed “untrainable”. April works hard to win the dog’s trust. When she signs up for a long-distance dog sled race, she must choose her race huskies. Should she take an experienced race dog? Or should she take a chance on Blaze? If you were April, what would you do and why?
Write to us in 180 words or less.
1. Email ourcontest@whatsup.sg.
2. Include your full name, class, and school in your email.
3. Deadline: 14 August 2026
You could win a copy of The Lone Husky.