Park Survival: Glacier Bay - by Vera Starbard (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Backcountry meets Megan E. Freeman's Alone in this survival/adventure middle grade about a boy who must rediscover his Indigenous culture while adventuring in Glacier Bay National Park with a team of loyal dogs.

It's almost the end of sixth grade, and twelve-year-old Emmett would like nothing more than to enjoy his break in the bustling heart of New York City -- moving between concrete skyscrapers, sightseers, music, motion, and subway stations. He doesn't know much about his mother's small hometown of Hoonah, Alaska, or about the Tlingit culture she was born into. But when she gets a once-in-a-lifetime job working as a Tlingit clan-house caretaker in Glacier Bay National Park, Emmett is forced to leave his familiar home behind and enter a whole new world, a world full of trees, breathtaking mountains, snow bluffs, and giant lakes -- and lots of pups!

At Hoonah, he meets Kasteen, a cousin he's never known and who seems to have infinitely more knowledge about their culture than he does. She's lived in Alaska all her life, and her family and their dogs have stewarded Glacier Bay National Park for generations. She talks to animals, has way more dogs than Emmett cares to count, and even speaks a language that he doesn't understand. Could she be any more annoying?

But when the two get into an argument that leads to Kasteen getting lost in the park, Emmett will have to utilize the skills he's learned from his family to save her. Will they be enough?

Park Survival: Glacier Bay will bring an Indigenous Alaskan cultural lens to the adventure/survival story -- recentering a Native voice in a genre that is so often set in Native land.

About the Author

Vera Starbard is a three-times Emmy-nominated tv writer, editor, playwright, and author. Born in Craig, Alaska with Tlingit and Dena'ina Athabascan heritage, she has lived all over the state. For her work as a writer on the PBS Kids show Molly of Denali, she was nominated for two Children and Family Emmy Awards -- including for "Outstanding Writing on a Preschool Animated Program." In 2024, she was named Alaska's State Writer Laureate. Currently, Vera lives in Douglas, Alaska with her husband, books, and too many cats.