That's when author and explorer Pam Flowers, who mushed her way from Barrow, Alaska, to Repulse Bay, Canada, will visit Graystone to finish the story of Anna, her lead sled dog on the 2,500-mile journey. Flowers' 1993 solo expedition marked the first time an American or a woman had completed the route alone.

In Big Enough Anna, Flowers details how the smallest dog on her team became the leader of the pack.

"I picked Anna's story for a book because Anna is so young and tiny, and no one thinks she can do anything except me, so kids identify with her," Flowers says. "She makes the team and becomes a leader, which kids all are certain they could be if they had a chance to prove themselves."

Michele Taylor, Graystone's literacy events coordinator, says Anna's story is a good lesson in perseverance.

"This little dog had the spirit to rally everyone into thinking they could make it," Taylor adds. "If you listen, learn, pay attention and work hard, that's what's important."

Flowers had to work hard not only during her Arctic expedition, which took her a year to complete, but also before she even set out.

"The biggest obstacle was no money," says the Alaska-based explorer. "No one thought my dogs and I could do this, so I borrowed the money and have since paid it back. I got much pleasure from succeeding because it proved my dogs were capable of completing a difficult journey, and I was enormously proud of the fact that I brought every dog home, happy and healthy."

When telling her story to schoolchildren, Flowers uses anecdotes about her sled dogs to convey life lessons.

"I try to make them see that each dog had a personality, each has a place in the team and each lives with me for their entire life," Flowers says. "[Original] lead dog Douggie is a leader because he obeys. His son Robert always worked in the back of the team and never became a leader because he never does what he is told.

"Roald is always happy and loves to chase seals," adds the author. "Sojo is shown getting a foot inspection, which I do every two hours."

Flowers and her dogs faced greater dangers than an injured paw during their Arctic journey, contending with the harsh environment and the wildlife therein. Anna took over as lead sled dog after Douggie got lost chasing after a caribou herd. The team had to deal with shifting ice floes that sometimes left it stranded, as well as temperatures that could dip as low as 56 degrees below zero.

At one point, Flowers recalls, "the ice melted on us, and we nearly didn't get to land. I show [students] what I thought might be our last picture if my dogs and I go through the ice and die. The students get very quiet during this part because they see this is really life and death."

Flowers tells students about the joys of exploring, as well as the dangers.

"I start by talking about Arctic geography and showing them how big and flat and treeless it is, so they get a sense of the vastness of the landscape," she says. "I tell them about the native people on the island where we spent the summer waiting for ice to return, and how the people are very much like us but eat mostly fish and caribou, and I describe a Christmas full of games."

Taylor says her students at Graystone appreciate the immediacy of Flowers' story.

"Kids study explorers in school and think they're old guys," Taylor adds. "Flowers is a modern explorer."

The explorer also knows how to sell a story. Taylor says her students are anticipating Flowers' visit so they can hear how Anna was rescued after her icy plunge.

"We've got a school full of kids waiting to see what happens to this dog," she adds.