Gold Fever!: Tales from the California Gold Rush

by Rosalyn Schanzer

Catch the fever! Gold fever swept the nation—and the world—in 1848 when carpenter James Marshall discovered a gold nugget in the American River near John Sutter's mill. As word spread of gold in California, the news set off a westward stampede. Fortune seekers and adventurers poured into California by land and sea, wild with excitement and expectation.

Rosalyn Schanzer's engaging and humorous book tells the story of these prospectors in their own words. Schanzer has gathered her favorite quotes from journals and letters written by the forty-niners to recount the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill. Her irresistible narrative also uses newspaper accounts to trace the various routes the forty-niners took from the East Coast to the West, the adventures they experienced along the way, and the challenges they faced on arrival. The characters recount their stories in their own words, in well-researched and authenticated quote bubbles.

Step into an intensely exciting chapter of American history. Learn about the dreamers who dropped everything to head out west. See who found gold and how. Meet the lucky ones—and the many whose dreams turned to dust. Listen to the intriguing tales of the prospectors, and find out what the gold-diggers did with their newfound wealth.

To write and research Gold Fever!, Rosalyn Schanzer visited many California Gold Rush historical sites, and took more than 600 photographs of everything from gold nuggets to saloons in order to make her art as accurate and flavorful as possible. With skill and humor she brings historical characters vividly to life and puts the spirit of the age into her vibrant art. History shines brightly on every page of this evocative book.

Genres: History, Picture Books, Geography, Nonfiction, Historical, Childrens

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel badly rating this so low. One of my sons has spent HOURS looking through this, for the pictures. As a text it feels too disjointed. The author uses quotes from various people to tell the story, but instead of really understanding what happened you feel like you just got snatches. I think this would have worked much better if there had been a "main thread" going through the book with quotes to augment or embellish. We did come away with a good feel for how the people felt and what 'society' was like out in the gold fields, but no real understanding of timeline. It's not a book I'd use alone and would probably just choose a different one altogether.

[Stephanie Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, the story of the Gold Rush was told with snippets from people's journals and other personal accounts. The quotes chosen were a lot of fun, and I loved the illustrations. However, the book would have benefitted immensely from having a narrator's framework - everything felt disjointed and I wouldn't have been able to follow the general history of what happened with the Gold Rush if I wasn't already familiar with the story.

[Barry Bard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Gold Fever! Tales from the California Gold Rush by Rosalyn Schanzer. The book begins with explaining the discovery of the gold using excerpts from people who were actually there via their letters and writings. As people began to migrate to California they used a variety of forms of transportation that the book describes using the 'tales' of people who experienced the journey by ship, land or a combination of the two. Once in California the text begins to convey life in the 'diggings' through the experiences the people had from Scurvy, to hygiene, as well as conflict with others. The author does a good job of expressing (via excerpts) how diverse the towns were as Native People, Chinese, Yankees and others descended on the area to find gold. Towns would spring up with the discovery of gold and be given unique names like 'Poverty Hill' and 'Flea Town' until the miners moved on and the town became deserted. In addition, excerpts were shared from people who were able to obtain financial gain with achievements that didn't include actual mining by selling goods and services. Finally, the book shares that gold became harder and harder to find and the miners either went home or stayed and picked up the ax or the plow and began to find riches in the natural resources of California.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing that was fun about this book is that she took excerpts from actual quoted found in many different journals and actual accounts. She assembled the quotes in a way that took the read through the progression of the gold rush from traveling through Panama or around South America, from newspaper advertisements to merchants who made their money off the miners. I studied the Gold Rush about four years ago when my son was doing the history fair. It was delightful to see the work that she did in pulling together all the information. Great children's book!

[Leah Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite Gold Rush picture book for kids. It has a big kid vibe that appeals to my 4th graders. All of the key historical details are present with cool illustrations to match. This book is set up differently than most, in that, it has quotes fro people of the time. It follows the gold discovery, through the different ways of migration in '49, to the eventual businesses and civilization of the area. It's a great book!

[Valentin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic because it is told through a first person point of view. It explains how the miners lived, worked, struggled to survive, and they entertained themselves. The illustrations are vivid and make learning about the Gold Rush fun.

[Kelle Treadwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

California

[Nettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for the California 4th grader!

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brilliantly illustrated children's book that emphasizes the importance of, by properly using, primary sources.