Gold Rush Fever: A Story of the Klondike, 1898 by Barbara Greenwood. Illustrated by Heather Collins (Canada) - (USA)
Pages: 157 pages
Ages: 8+
Finished: May 12, 2010
First Published: 2001
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Genre: children, non-fiction, historical fiction, Canadian history
Rating: 3/5
First sentence:
Will you look at this old photo?
Acquired: Bought and own a copy.
Reason for Reading: Read aloud to my 9yo as part of our history curriculum.
As others from this series of like books from Greenwood and Collins an historical fiction tale is interspersed with non-fiction sections that expound upon information presented within the fictional story. While other books contained crafts in the non-fiction sections this book can't really be said to have crafts, there are a couple of experiments, a card game, a recipe and recommended reading instead.
Another difference is that rather than being about a family as in the Pioneer books and the Underground Railroad book, this book features in on two orphaned brothers: one almost a man, the other 13 years old, Tim. Tim narrates the story and tells of how he and his brother head on out for the great stampede north to Dawson City where they aim to make their fortune. Greenwood has presented a very realistic tale of all the hardships experienced along the way, though she does stay away from any of the grizzly details. She tells of the trials of the Chilkoot Pass, the river, the lawlessness before reaching Canada where the Mounties ruled with an iron fist and the backbreaking, often hopeless working a claim. The characters in this book seem to have more than the average share of good luck but still it comes out an entertaining and informational book on the topic. Particularly nice in this book, over the others, is the inclusion of real photographs which adds even more reality to the story. A good beginning book on the topic with plenty of information to get a good overview of the Gold Rush. Not my favourite of the series though.
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