… 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!
After so many great photos, what else needs to be said??? We had an awesome Summer Reading road trip, visiting public libraries in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Tennessee. 60 total talks! THANK YOU to all of the enthusiastic and devoted public librarians out there who put together another amazing Summer Reading season. YOU ARE APPRECIATED! And thank you to everyone who came out to learn about the exciting sport of dog mushing and visit with Noggin and me. We love the opportunity to make new friends and learn more about the communities we visit. Noggin can’t wait for the next tour! Email us now to book a talk—we are already scheduling for Winter-Spring 2025 and even 2025 SUMMER READING!
And don’t forget to check out our new dog mushing album, TRAIL ANGELS…
***Noggin highly recommends the song, “Noggin, You’re the One!”
Co-written with veteran dog sled racer, writer and lecturer, Karen Land, Trail Angels takes listeners on an album-length journey to the wild north to experience the lives of mushers, Alaskan huskies, bush pilots, and more.
Peddler’s French founders Philadelphia Phil and Matt Scutchfield assembled a multi-generational ensemble of acoustic players and singers, gathering artists from throughout the US for a series of studio recording sessions completed over a one-year period. All songs on the album were inspired by brave and beloved dogs, and real-life mushing adventures in Alaska, Canada, and the Lower 48.
Trail Angels comes in an eco-wallet with a dramatic image by official Iditarod photographer Jeff Schultz gracing the cover. Messages from Karen and Phil are included in the full-color, 4-page insert, complete with a song-by-song listing of the many fine musicians on the album. The insert image of Karen and her team just strides away from the Iditarod finish line in Nome comes from Schultz’s 2006 book, “Iditarod Glory”.
Produced by Philadelphia Phil and Matt Scutchfield All songs written by Phillip Henry Christopher (Philadelphia Phil) and Karen Land Photos by Jeff Schultz: SchultzPhoto.com Art Direction and Design by Bruce Lampe Peddler’s French: philadelphiaphil.com Karen Land: stringofdogs.com
String of Dogs 