Have you ever thought about finding gold? Just picking up rocks from the ground and having them turn out to be treasure? It has happened…but mostly, it was a lot of hard work. The kids in these books are searching for gold…either panning for it in mining towns during a gold rush, or searching for a treasure hidden by someone who did all the hard work! These books take place in the Yukon, in California, in Australia and in the Southwest. I bet you never knew there were so many places to have adventures looking for hidden gold… (If you want books featuring the California Gold Rush, check out the San Francisco Booklist from earlier this year.) These are mostly historical fiction, with a couple adventures thrown in.
Our 5 Books feature is a booklist of five books (or more!) on a specific topic, with a short synopsis so you can decide if it sounds like something you would like. Five Books–one old, one new, one popular with kids, one well-reviewed, and one staff favorite. (But you’ll have to guess which is which)!
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Bo-Bo’s Cave of Gold by Pam Berkman and Dorothy Hearst
California, 1852. Sage, a golden, big-hearted mutt, is abandoned by her pack. She is about to give up hope when a silly bird squawks her out of her sadness and leads her to Sheng, a young gold prospector. Sheng renames her Bo-Bo, the Chinese word for treasure, and they soon become inseparable.
When Bo-Bo frees a caged bear, the bear’s owner–who is also a cruel tax collector–demands a huge price from Sheng for losing the bear. But where can Bo-Bo and Sheng find that much gold? Their only chance is a fabled cave rumored to be filled with treasure. But the cave is supposedly located across the foothills, on a path loaded with danger. Will Bo-Bo and Sheng find it in time?
24 Hours in Nowhere by Dusti Bowling
Welcome to Nowhere, Arizona, the least livable town in the United States. For Gus, a bright 13-year-old with dreams of getting out and going to college, life there is made even worse by Bo Taylor, Nowhere’s biggest, baddest bully. When Bo tries to force Gus to eat a dangerously spiny cactus, Rossi Scott, one of the best racers in Nowhere, comes to his rescue–but in return she has to give Bo her prized dirt bike. Determined to buy it back, Gus agrees to go searching for gold in Dead Frenchman Mine, joined by his old friends Jessie Navarro and Matthew Dufort, and Rossi herself. As they hunt for treasure, narrowly surviving everything from cave-ins to mountain lions, they bond over shared stories of how hard life in Nowhere is–and they realize this adventure just may be their way out.
Treasure on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach
Even though Henry Barker and his two brothers learned firsthand that the urban legend about danger on nearby Superstition Mountain wasn’t just a myth, this doesn’t stop them from planning their return. Along with their friend Delilah, the Barker brothers soon find themselves entangled in more danger and mystery as they uncover a real treasure, but the discovery comes at a very big price–they barely survive an avalanche. The question remains–is someone after them, or is the mountain seeking revenge?
The middle book in an exciting trilogy. (Gold figures into the last book as well.)
Tenmile by Sandra Dallas
Life in 1880 Tenmile, Colorado, isn’t easy. But it’s all that 12-year-old Sissy Carlson knows. She’s lived here her whole life, watching her father, the local doctor, tend to the town’s citizens. And while the mountain setting is gorgeous, Tenmile is a rough gold mining town. It often feels like there’s just a thin line between life and death. Mining is a hard job; men are hurt or even killed. Sissy sees the same thin line between the haves and the have-nots as she assists her father in his practice, seeing firsthand the personal and not-always-private struggles of his patients. Now that she’s older, Sissy is starting to think of the world beyond Tenmile and where she might fit in. What opportunities might she find if she could just get away? What kind of future does Tenmile offer, especially for a girl?
Bandit’s Moon by Sid Fleischman
Newly orphaned, young Annyrose escapes from the villainous O.O. Mary and falls under the protection of a proud and fearless Mexican bandit, regarded as the Robin Hood of the California Gold Rush. Annyrose wants only to search for her older brother who had run off to the gold diggings, but she finds herself galloping beside the celebrated outlaw in his own quest. He is hunting down the last of a band of “Yankee” riffraff who wronged him, an event that turned the innocent young Mexican into an avenging terror of the roads. With his characteristic story twists and turns and surprises, Newbery Award winner Sid Fleischman lights up a dark corner in this Gold Rush drama set against a firestorm of bigotry ignited by the lust for riches. As for this legendary bandit, dashing about on his silken black horse and breathing fire, he actually lived.
Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill
It’s the 1920s, and Bo was headed for an Alaska orphanage when she won the hearts of two tough gold miners who set out to raise her, enthusiastically helped by all the kind people of the small town and nearby native village.
Bo learns Eskimo along with English, helps in the cookshack, learns to polka, and rides along with Big Annie and her dog team. There’s always some kind of excitement: Bo sees her first airplane, makes doughnuts, and has a run-in with a bear. When a speechless boy shows up in the camp, Bo’s compassion helps him heal…and finds him a home.
An unforgettable story of a little girl growing up in the exhilarating time after the big Alaska gold rushes. Also read the follow-up; Bo at Iditarod Creek.
Jason’s Gold by Will Hobbs
“Gold!” Jason shouted at the top of his lungs. “Read all about it! Gold discovered in Alaska!”
Within hours of hearing the thrilling news, fifteen-year-old Jason Hawthorn jumps a train for Seattle, stow away on a ship bound for the goldfields, and joins thousands of fellow prospectors attempting the difficult journey to the Klondike. The Dead Horse Trail, the infamous Chilkott Pass, and a five-hundred-mile trip by canoe down the Yukon River lie ahead. With help from a young writer named Jack London, Jason and his dog face moose, bears, and the terrors of a subartic winter in this bone-chilling survival story.
The Last Gold Diggers by Harry Horse
Grandfather and Roo, a remarkable dog with strong views and a short attention span, are off to Australia, on an expedition to find long-lost Uncle Vincent, who ran away to seek his fortune years ago.
Roo is worried about Australia being upside down, but that turns out to be the least of their problems. After a tricky flight the intrepid explorers land in Sidney, Australia–not Sydney, as it turns out–and must advance up the Snakey River to Gold Town. Grandfather and Roo endure blistering heat, a rebellious camel, and disreputable kangaroos, as they head off on foot to find the Gold Field, last known home of Uncle Vincent.
Henry Reed’s Journey by Keith Robertson
The journal from Henry’s trip across the country with the Glass family, telling of the sights they saw and the strange things which resulted when Henry and Midge became involved in innocent and blameless goings-on. The oldest book on this list–written in 1963–it definitely has some issues reflecting the time it was written. But the panning for gold chapter (Saturday, June 19th–Yosemite Nation Park) is a fun read where Henry and Midge inadvertently start a gold rush.)
The Treasure of Mad Doc Magee by Elinor Teele
The small, run-down town of Eden is the only place Jenny Burns has ever called home. The roots of the trees are in her bones, the air of the mountains is in her breath, the lakes and rivers are in her blood. And that’s why, when her father loses his job and tells Jenny that they may have to move on from Eden, she knows she can’t let that happen.
The fever of New Zealand’s gold rush still runs in the veins of Eden, and everyone knows the legend of Doc Magee: how he found the largest gold nugget anyone had ever seen and hid it somewhere in the hills before he disappeared.
Jenny and her best friend, Pandora, know that if they can find the gold, it’ll solve all their problems. But the way is fraught with mysteries, riddles, and danger–and those are just the threats they know about. Before her quest is over, Jenny will have to face challenges from within as well as from without.
Archie Strikes Gold by Brandon Terrell
Archie is traveling with his uncle Harold, a member of an entertainment revue hired by the renovated Dawson City Theatre, to perform for the Yukon gold rushers. While there, Harold befriends an older gentleman, Montgomery Wycroft, who is in the area panning for gold. Archie and his uncle opt to stay behind in Dawson City, joining Monty on his dangerous quest for gold, battling with both greedy gold-seekers and the unforgiving Canadian terrain. Will Archie and his uncle strike gold, or will they find something more valuable?
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Don’t you just want to put on your Levi’s, grab a flat pan and head for the nearest stream? Probably nothing can be found around here, but it’s easy to picture all those prospectors hoping to strike it rich!
Can you think of any gold prospecting books that you read and loved? Some of the books that I read as a kid–The Extraordinary Adventures of Chee Chee McNerney by Evelyn Nevin, Mystery of the Haunted Mine by Gordon D. Shirreffs, and By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman–set me looking for gold rush books, something that I enjoy even now. The first two books are long out of print, but still hit book stumper lists fairly frequently, so I guess they made an impression on quite a few young readers. I wonder if any of the books on this list will still be remembered in 2053…
If you need help finding the books on this list, or any other books in the library, just ask one of our librarians. We love matching books with readers!
Happy Reading!
::Kelly::
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