Gold rush historical fiction for kids and teens
Discover thrilling gold rush historical fiction books for kids and teens! Explore adventure-packed tales of fortune seekers, wild frontiers, and exciting 1800s gold rush eras. Perfect for young readers who love history and action!
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Away to the Goldfields!
by Pat Derby
Yearning for adventure and tired of farm life in New Hampshire, sixteen-year-old Mary Margaret Malarkey journeys to California in 1848 to find her father who arrived earlier to make his fortune in the goldfields.
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Seeds of Hope
by Kristiana Gregory
A diary account of fourteen-year-old Susanna Fairchild's life in 1849, when her father succumbs to gold fever on the way to establish his medical practice in Oregon after losing his wife and money on their steamship journey from New York. Includes a historical note.
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The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung
by Laurence Yep
A young Chinese boy nicknamed Runt records his experiences in a journal as he travels from southern China to California in 1852 to join his uncle during the Gold Rush.
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Anisett Lundberg
by Kathleen Duey
California 1851: Anisett and her mother and younger brother struggle to make a meager living by providing meals for miners in rough gold camps. Anisett resents the harshness of her life and her mother's favoritism toward her brother, so, when she finds a small chunk of gold while fetching water from the creek, she keeps the discovery to herself.
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Carrie's Gold
by Cheryl Zach
Dreaming of a better life in her world of hard work and hand-me-downs, Carrie Benson is swept up by the California Gold Rush and joins a westbound wagon train, falling in love with medical student Luke McDougal along the way. Original.
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California Gold
by Pamela June Walls
A delightful series focusing on the travels of Abby Kendall. Lots of surprises will keep 8- to 12-year-old girls coming back for more.
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Treasure in the Stream
by Dorothy Hoobler
The lives of ten-year-old Amy and the members of her farming family are changed forever when gold is discovered on Mr. Sutter's land.
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Caroline
by Willo Davis Roberts
When Caroline's brothers head West to find gold in California, she disguises herself as a boy and follows, but along the way she meets Dan Riddle and falls in love.
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Saddles, Stars, and Stripes: Blackwater Creek
by Deborah Kent
Erika Nagys and her family have come to California from Hungary in search of gold. When they cannot pay the rent, Erika must go and work for their nasty landlord, the rancher Hart Latham. Erika forms a special bond with an injured filly named Arany, which she nurses back to health. When Arany escapes from the corral, Erika finds the horse -- and gold -- in Blackwater Creek. But will newfound riches solve her family's problems?
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Letters from the Corrugated Castle
by Joan W. Blos
Dear Cousin Sallie, I begin with words I never thought to write: I am not an orphan! Thirteen-year-old Eldora has always believed that her mother died when she was very little, and for nine years she has lived with people that she calls Aunt and Uncle. The year is 1850, and all three have exchanged their quiet lives in New Bedford, Massachusetts, for new ones in San Francisco, the rapidly growing city that is the heart of the California Gold Rush. Shortly after their arrival, they receive a letter from an unknown woman who believes she is Eldora's mother. She is eager to meet her long-lost daughter, and a visit is arranged. As Eldora deals with her conflicting feelings about this news, she must also adjust to the challenges -- and dangers -- of living in a brash and growing city. She finds herself teaching English to two Mexicano children and beginning to learn Spanish, and an unlikely friendship with a boy named Luke introduces her to the hard, sometimes humorous, and often violent world of the mining camps. Every day seems to bring something different and new to consider. But can Eldora discover where -- and to whom -- she belongs? Told in letters that ring with the voice of the times, Letters from the Corrugated Castle is an intriguing adventure set in a fascinating time in California's history -- a worthy conclusion to the geographical trilogy begun with A Gathering of Days, winner of the Newbery Medal, and Brothers of the Heart.