Gold Fever Trail

by Monica Hughes

In 1897, Dawson City on the banks of the Yukon River was the scene of the greatest gold rush the world has ever known ... the Klondike Gold Rush. More than 20,000 men across rugged trails and mountains to reach this land where fortunes could be made in a day. Two adventurous children go to the Klondike, too. Their mother is dead and their father is missing somewhere along the gold rush trail. So Henry and Sarah Thorpe stow away aboard a ship and search for their father-the first of many hardships to come...

108 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Monica Hughes was a very popular writer for young people, and has won numerous prizes. Her books have been published in the United States, Poland, Spain, Japan, France, Scandinavia, England, and Germany. She has twice received the Canada Council Prize for Children's Literature, and was runner-up for the Guardian Award.

She is the author of Keeper of the Isis Light, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, which also received a Certificate of Honor from the International Board on Books for Young People; Hunter in the Dark, also an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; and Sandwriter, among many other titles.

Reviews

[Fahula · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an introduction to a trip to Barkerville, I’ll use this as a read aloud but I’ll keep a lookout for another similar resource. Hughes introduces a number of informative historical aspects related to The Klondike Gold Rush. There are many opportunities for discussion and related research. There is enough action to keep the kids interested. I found the characters quite dull, but this could lend to opportunities to dramatize portions of the story to bring some life to it.