Gold Fever!

by Catherine Mcmorrow

Book Overview

?? The rush to the American West was stimulated by the sight of shining metal. Beginning with the first discovery at Sutter's Mill, Catherine McMorrow gives a gripping, richly anecdotal account of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679864326
• ISBN13: 9780679864325
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

In The Days of Old, In the Days of Gold, In the Days of '49

This book traces the history of the California Gold Rush from 1848 to 1859. It is an exciting tale of fortunes won and lost, of thousands of men and women catching "Gold Fever" --the promise of easy riches. Some of it is quite humorous "...Get our California Gold Grease! Only 10$ a box. Rub on your body, roll down a hill. Gold, and only gold [in italics] will stick to your skin!"The book also is realistic, telling of the dangers facing people who came over land or by sea around South America to the Isthmus of Panama. Both during the gold rush and after its height a gold-based service economy arose to meet the needs (at highy inflated prices) of the miners. The book describes how gold was mined, and the properties of gold that make it valuable "A piece of gold the size of a pea can be stretched into a wire that is two miles long. ...Gold is eight times heavier than stones and sand. Gold is sturdy, yet soft." Surprisingly informative and always interesting, with Michael Eagle's portraits and exciting scenes illustrating the already exuberrant text. An excllent book for elementary school readers in grades 2 through 5 (or so), "Gold Fever" makes history fun!

U.S. History Teacher (teaching elementary students)

Gold Fever is an outstanding book! I ordered this book to use with American students ages 7-9 learning about the American West. We read the book aloud and discussed its content as we went. The content was perfect for this age group and the illustrations were wonderful. My students were enthralled and begged for more time (we read it over two days). They asked great questions and wanted to learn more. This book has great basic information about gold, the Gold Rush, and its impact on California/the West. Overall--good, solid content and thought-provoking illustrations. I HIGHLY recommend this book!