The California Gold Rush: An Interactive History Adventure

by Elizabeth Raum

YOU are a New Englander with a bad case of gold fever. Gold has been discovered in California, and you want to go claim some for yourself. Will you strike it rich?

Genres: History, Middle Grade, Nonfiction, American History, Childrens

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

As a child, I loved writing reports. For me, doing research has always been a kind of treasure hunt. My treasures are the facts that create pictures of past worlds and faraway places. I've put those facts into nearly 100 biographies, histories, and science books for young readers. I've also written two picture books and several interactive adventures that place you, the reader, inside the story. I hope that all my books lead you to imagine yourself in some intriguing place among fascinating people. Every book should take readers on new adventures in this big, beautiful world of ours.

Happy travels!

Author website: www.elizabethraumbooks.com

Reviews

[Joe Bolin]

Remember those Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books from many years ago? I loved them and this book, full of accurate California Gold Rush history, follows the same rules. My class loved it as a read aloud; we worked through it several times, making different choices each time and the difficulty in reaching California and striking it rich were really driven home by the book.

[Marilyn Zanetti]

In the book, “The World Rushed In,” we learn about the Gold Rush. This book focuses on William Swain’s experience. He was a well-educated, responsible man who came from a religious family. William traveled to California with a few of his neighbors from New York who joined a larger caravan. He left his wife, brother, and other family members behind to strike it rich. He loved his family very much and planned to return as soon as he found gold.

Living in California gold country proved to be difficult. It was not easy to find gold and there were many immoral people there. Holliday writes about those that enjoyed the wild west. William was not that type of man. He did not succumb to the immorality that was rampant, this included, gambling, prostituiton, and drinking. He worked hard and read his bible regularly. He was in California from 1849-1850.

Like many other miners, William returned home by way of a ship without wealth. His voyage included traveling through the isthmus in Panama. Even though he did not strike it rich, his family was grateful that he had “seen the elephant” and returned home. Since he had written about the danger of contracting cholera on his journey home. He did get very sick when he arrived. His brother had to get him and take him home. William’s return was not a difficult one. He was able to get back to the life he took a break from. He went back to work with his brother. He was a farmer for many years. He died in 1904 at the age of 83.

John Holliday set out to write a comprehensive book about the California gold rush. He wrote an unbiased account based on decades of research, which included many miners' diary entries. His book focused on William Swain’s experience with the gold rush. John had a bit of an obsession with getting the gold rush story “right,” not leaving any important piece out. So he did research for several decades. His obsession was similar to how some miners could not return home until they found their fortune. John came to realize that he needed to stop researching and move on to the next phase of writing his book. I believe that it was his tenacity that contributed to him telling a great story for readers to come to understand why men left the comfort of their home to become 49ers.

[Coco Harris]

My kids love this series! We use this as a fun intro into history topics we are covering in homeschool and I love how it includes factual information and lessons while being so interactive. Choose your own adventure, as the story progresses you can decide which routes to take to see if you do indeed strike it rich with the Gold Rush or not.

[CC Emens]

I loved it!

[Kim Hampton]

A great way to teach kids about history by putting them into the story.

[Chloe M]

Historical Fiction
3rd-5th Grade
Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books are so fun! It allows young readers to feel involved in the story. In this particular book, kids are taught about the California Gold Rush. So as they're having fun interacting with their book, they also learn history.

[Tamara]

A great book for middle-schoolers. A historically accurate choose your own adventure book. The author researched real-life stories and tragedies of people traveling west in 1848-49 hoping to strike it rich. With a dozen or so separate endings, kids will have plenty of choices to make in this story while learning about the dangers, failures and successes of those who traveled from all over the country seeking their fortunes. As a teacher, especially appreciated are book and web resources as well as a glossary in the back of the book.

[Ebookwormy1]

Mama hasn't read this one yet, but students give it two thumbs up! This well researched series of real life stories has captivated our readers.