… our last six months in a nutshell/slideshow! As Johnny Cash would say, “We’ve been EVERYWHERE, friends…”
We’ve been to… Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts…
And now SUMMER READING 2025 is just over the hill! Here’s to more trails to discover, more libraries to explore, more books to read, more friends to meet!
Email Karen and Noggin at mymusher @ gmail.com to book a talk at your library or school… MUSH!
Noggin and I love our job because we get to work with some of the coolest folks around—of course we’re talking about LIBRARIANS AND TEACHERS! Check out this wonderful video posted by Lisa McEwan from New Haven Elementary, New Haven, NY. When the students began to serenade Noggin and me, strumming their ukuleles and singing one of our very own songs (“Noggin, You’re the One“) from our TRAIL ANGELS album, I started crying!
I’m talking tears of joy and appreciation here… for Kelly Cullen, the Library & Media Specialist, who organized our visit to the school (and several others in the area) and passed along our song and lyric/chord charts to Lisa… and for Lisa, an incredibly enthusiastic and inspiring music teacher, who devoted time and attention, teaching her students a song from an album my friend, Phillip Henry Christopher, and I worked on for almost 2 years with a group of talented musicians from all over the world… for those musicians, of course, who brought this project to life (!!!) … for the subjects of this song (and my talks)— NOGGIN, CHLOE, and all of my beloved dogs over the years… for BOCES who sponsors our visits to New York schools… and last but certainly not least, the students who worked so hard to learn the lyrics and music (and who also made their own ukulele picks with Kelly Cullen on a 3D printer!) and WOWED Noggin and me and the entire school with a concert we will always remember and cherish!
Across this country, our schools and public libraries are the HEART of every community! TEAMWORK, COLLABORATION, CREATIVITY, EXPLORATION, RESILIENCE, JOY, HOPE… TEACHERS and LIBRARIANS keep us all focused on the trail ahead, a path we all share together!
2025 is my 25th year giving school and library talks across this country and I’m thrilled to say it’s been one of the best yet! We look forward to SUMMER READING 2025, our fall 2025 talks, and 2026! To book a talk in your community, please email me at mymusher @ gmail.com. And to check out our entire TRAIL ANGELS album, go to: https://peddlersfrench.bandcamp.com/album/trail-angels
Get out your crayons and colored pencils, paper mache and clay, paints and brushes, or whichever mediums inspire YOU! Noggin and Karen are gearing up for “COLOR OUR WORLD—SUMMER READING 2025!” Email us today at mymusher@gmail.com to save a date (we’re also booking winter & spring school and public library talks). And while you’re enjoying a sample of amazing mushing artwork created by students and library patrons over the years, click on the PLAY button below the slideshow to listen to Noggin’s all-time favorite song—“Noggin, You’re the One!”—available on our new dog mushing album, TRAIL ANGELS.
There’s nothing happier than a sled dog on snow…
Karen Land and her dog team at the 2002 Iditarod Start Line, Anchorage, Alaska. Pig (R) and Gnome (L) in lead. Photo credit: Jeff Schultz
Romano stickers!
Click PLAY here to listen to “Noggin, You’re the One!”
And go to https://peddlersfrench.bandcamp.com/album/trail-angels to hear our other original mushing tunes and purchase your own CD or digital download. Thank you for supporting our truly unique musical collaboration!
My 24th year of dog mushing talks is off to an exciting and enthusiastic start! In the first three months of 2024, we’ve given over 40 talks in Indiana, West Virginia, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York (not to mention the busy 2023 Autumn tour in North Carolina). Thank you to the librarians and teachers who hosted us as well as all of the students, patrons, and dog lovers who made us feel at home in your communities. This lovely little article written by Nathan Bagster sums up why we love doing what we do, and why we plan to keep on spreading that beautiful sled dog spirit…
Indiana, Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York…
It was such a joy to finally get back to the East coast and visit many of the schools and libraries we had to postpone two years ago due to Covid. Patience pays off! We met so many wonderful people. I loved seeing Noggin and Chloe so happy out in the world again. Happy dogs=happy me. It seemed everyone was craving close connections. Thank you to all of the teachers, librarians, and hosts who made our trip possible!
Next year’s EAST COAST tour will happen March/April 2023. Email us at mymusher at gmail.com for more information and to save your place on our schedule.
And, we continue to book SUMMER and FALL presentations. Email us with any questions, thoughts, or ideas. We’re always up for a new adventure!
Thank you to Alex Lansdowne from the Kiowa County Media Center in Greensburg, Kansas for making this awesome video of our presentation this last summer. We love it!
Noggin, Chloe, and I traveled to five states in 29 days, giving 25 presentations to thousands of students, library patrons, and mushing fans. We met so many wonderful people! Thank you to the schools and libraries for inviting us to your communities and to all of the enthusiastic dog lovers who attended our talks!
We’re home now, doing laundry, cleaning out our truck, and repacking for our Midwestern and East coast adventures. Interested in a SUMMER READING talk? We’re booking now for May, June, and July. For more information, email Karen at mymusher at gmail.com.
What a great time we had on our last Iditarod Public Library and School Talk Tour of 2019 and THE DECADE! Thank you to Grand County Public Library (Moab, Utah), Montrose Regional Library (Montrose, Colorado), Mesa County Libraries (two presentations at the Grand Junction, CO central branch and one at the Fruita branch), Bemis Public Library (Littleton, Colorado), Erie Middle School (Erie, Colorado), Erie Community Library, and Eaton Public Library (Eaton, Colorado).
TO CELEBRATE MY 20th YEAR OF IDITAROD DOG MUSHING TALKS, we’re planning a MEGA ROAD TRIP around the United States for 2020! There’s a good chance we’ll be IN YOUR AREA! For more information, email Karen at mymusher at gmail.com … or… mymusher at yahoo.com.
Thank you to all of the awesome LIBRARIANS and TEACHERS from our East coast trip! Noggin and I were honored to visit so many wonderful libraries and schools in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. WE LOVE LIBRARIES!
This upcoming May and June we’ll be visiting public libraries and schools in Missouri, Kansas, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Email us now at mymusher@gmail.com to set up a visit!
String of Dogs 