Black Star, Bright Dawn: Chapters 6–9

by Scott O'Dell
Due to her father’s injury, 18-year-old Bright Dawn takes his place in the Iditarod, the annual dogsled race in Alaska. Below zero weather, hungry wolf packs, exhaustion, and a thinning sled dog pack test all her wits throughout this grueling, 1,179 mile trek.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–9, Chapters 10–15, Chapters 16–20
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. litter
    the group of offspring born to an animal at one time
    The next four dogs in the line were from a different litter, but all had been bred by the Malamute Eskimo tribe, who live near the mouth of the Yukon River.
  2. tireless
    characterized by sustained hard work and perseverance
    They were named Sun, Moon, Sky, and Blizzard. The first three were brown-eyed, tawny-colored dogs. Sun and Moon, gray Alaskan huskies, were tireless.
  3. dependable
    worthy of reliance or trust
    Sky, who had some malamute and husky blood in her, was dependable.
  4. amber
    of a medium to dark brownish yellow color
    Silver-coated with an amber mask, Blizzard was different from the other six dogs.
  5. outskirts
    area relatively far from the center, as of a city or town
    We'll truck snow in if we have to, all the way down Main Street from the starting line to the outskirts and beyond.
  6. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    All the dogs in the field were howling for supper. They made a dreadful din.
  7. lope
    run easily
    "I will give you advice. You like advice? Good. Slow the first day. Let the dogs lope."
  8. sinew
    a band of tissue connecting a muscle to its bony attachment
    Oteg went to his sled and came back with a handful of small, sharp knives. They were carved from yellow walrus tusk and tied in a bunch with sinew.
  9. buffet
    strike against forcefully
    Before we had gone far, the wind that had buffeted us during the night died away.
  10. amulet
    a trinket thought to be a magical protection against evil
    He reached in a pouch he wore at the end of a string and took out an amulet of blue beads and heron feathers.
  11. burdensome
    not easily borne or endured; causing hardship
    They were very happy until Raven, the jealous trickster, came and gave them a burdensome task.
  12. bluff
    a high steep bank
    It is the most dangerous part of the trail. You can go over the bluff and fall into Happy River Gorge.
  13. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    She shouted "Trail!" in a haughty voice, and I moved over as much as I could to let her pass.
  14. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    As I passed the wreck, as the girl stared helplessly at me, Black Star veered off the trail and brought us to a halt against a snowbank.
  15. teeter
    move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
    After I straightened out her team, I went over to the sled, which was teetering on the edge of the bluff.
Created on Wed Dec 17 19:05:41 EST 2025 (updated Mon Feb 02 16:23:56 EST 2026)

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