Seaman and the Great Northern Adventure

Time Dogs #2

by Helen Moss, Misa Saburi (Illustrations)

An exciting new illustrated chapter book series for dog-loving readers!

When a pack of senior dogs find themselves transported back in time--and turned into puppies!--they must make their way back home, helping real-life historical dogs along the way.

In this second adventure, Baxter, Trevor, Newton, Titch, and Maia--the time dogs!--find themselves transported through time and space to 1805 on the Missouri River. There, deep in the wilderness, the puppies must help Seaman, the dog of legendary explorers Lewis and Clark.

Genres: Time Travel, Animals

144 pages, Hardcover

Published June 4, 2019

Reviews

[Lisa Welch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like this series overall, but this book was not nearly as good as the first book in the series. I think many kids of the intended age will need a bit more historical context going into this one than the first one (the first one could be picked up with little prior knowledge). That said....many of the kids I work with are loving this series.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baxter, Trevor, Newton, Maia, and Titch hop in the time van for another adventure. They think they are headed back to Alaska, but they end up in the Western U.S. in 1805 and help fill in as guard dogs for the Lewis and Clark expedition while Lewis' dog Seaman recovers from an injury.

I like how this adventure with Lewis and Clark actually focuses more on York (a slave who was owned by Clark's family) and Sacagawea. The author did her research and included a lot of events that were recorded in diaries of participants of the expedition, from bear attacks to beaver attacks to encounters with traders to mutinies spurred on by alcohol consumption. There are notes in the back of the book about which things included in the story were real, which were most of the events, the author just scrunched the timeline a little to make sure the dogs were there for multiple events during their few days of time travel. I like how each of the dogs have their own unique talents and skills that they contribute to the adventures and make a stronger team because they are different and work together. I didn't feel like it was necessary to include the drunken mutiny but at least it shows kids the dangers of too much alcohol I guess. This is a nice different perspective of the Lewis and Clark expedition from what the textbooks usually include so it would be good for kids or classes studying that. And dog lovers who are reluctant historical fiction readers will appreciate it.

Notes on content: No language issues or sexual content. There's a bear attack that results in some scratches, a beaver attack that actually seriously injures a dog (and I thought at first it sounded far fetched but that one is historical!), and the drunken brawl/mutiny that results in several guys losing their jobs and getting punished.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this, the second installment in the Time Dogs series, readers follow the five canine friends as they head back in time all the way to 1805. Using the time-traveling van that is stashed away in a barn at Happy Paws Farm, the dogs spend some time with Seaman, the Newfoundland that accompanied Lewis and Clark on their westward expedition all the way to the Pacific. They cram a lot of adventures during their brief sojourn, encountering a grizzly, a fierce beaver who bites Seaman on the leg, and some wild dogs. Maia is almost left behind when she is given as a gift to some other travelers. Since this tale is told from the point of view of Trevor, readers have the chance to start to get to know him even better. It should be fun to read the next books in the series. The idea of elderly dogs having the chance to return to their youthful form is fun, and I won't be the only dog-lover to wish that this really could happen.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the concept is fun but I didn't like how the characters (dogs) talked to each other. They were really sarcastic and while thats potentially well received with older crowds, the subject matter doesn't really appeal to older readers.

I breezed through it and didn't bother with the resolution, made it about 75% through.

[Raven Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 2 of series

A Magic Tree House with dogs