1848 – 1855
The Gold Rushes in California, Alaska, and Colorado were periods of intense migration and excitement. The California Gold Rush began in 1848, drawing thousands of people hoping to strike it rich. Later, the Alaska Gold Rush in the late 1890s and the Colorado Gold Rush in the mid-1800s brought similar waves of prospectors. These events led to rapid population growth and significant economic changes in these regions. You can find more books about westward expansion here.
Picture books
Gold Fever
Lively introduction to the California gold rush for young readers
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Pedro’s Pan: A Gold Rush Story
Playful story about a man and his pan, inspired by the man who launched the Alaska gold rush
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Yao Bai and the Egg Pirates
Exciting story about a boy in San Francisco during the Gold Rush
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Nine For California
Playful story of a family on a stagecoach trip to California
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Boom Town
Engaging story of a girl learning to bake in her California boom town
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Chapter books
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple
Excellent novel about a girl making the most of life in a California mining town
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Hard Gold: The Colorado Gold Rush of 1859
Novel about a farm boy who follows his uncle west and learns about the reality of gold country
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By the Great Horn Spoon!
Exciting novel about a boy who runs away to California to mine gold and find adventure
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The Bite of the Gold Bug: A Story of the Alaskan Gold Rush
Story of a boy and his father on the treacherous journey to Alaska to mine gold
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Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild
Fictional diary of a girl traveling with her father to California during the gold rush
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The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner, California, 1852
Fictional diary of a Chinese boy who travels to California to mine for gold
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Silver Dollar Girl
Story of a girl in disguise on a journey to find her father in gold-mining Colorado
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Mystery at Chilkoot Pass
A girl traveling through Canada as part of the Klondike gold rush solves a mystery
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Gold Rush Girl
Story of a girl on an adventure in gold rush-era San Francisco
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The California Gold Rush: An Interactive History Adventure
Choose-your-own-adventure style stories set during the California gold rush
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