Historical Fiction for Young Readers from Kregel Publications {A Book Review}

While some may say that you can have too much of a good thing when it comes to books, I respectively disagree. As a homeschool Mom with four avid readers, we can never have too many books – only too few bookshelves. So when I learned of the Goldtown Beginnings series from Kregel Publications, I knew this was a review I wanted to participate in. These historical fiction novels for children ages 6-8 sounded like the perfect way to test the waters of chapter books with my kindergartener, even if she is technically a little young for them. Armed with our copies of Jem Strikes Gold and Jem’s Frog Fiasco, she and I set out to check out the first two titles in the series.

A Big Jump

Prior to this review, my youngest child and I have strictly read non-chapter books. However, she had sat beside me from time to time while reading chapter books to her older brother. While the stories tend to be longer, her brother’s frequent interruptions to chat about what is going on, or guess about what is coming up next, help her to follow along.

So she had some idea of what to expect from these two titles. Yet, this was truly the first time she and I sat down to intentionally read a chapter book together. My hope was that this would be a great way to transition into longer books with her.

Getting Started with Goldtown Beginnings

We sat down a few weeks ago to start the first title in the series, Jem Strikes Gold. At just 78 pages in length, I knew this soft covered book could take us anywhere from a single session to several days to read through the book. We started with the covers, front and back, and read the summary as well. She loved the picture of the boy and the dog on the cover and was excited to start.

The first page in the book is actually a list of new words. This can be helpful, especially for readers who are taking on this story independently.

Chapter 1 begins by introducing you to the town of Goldtown, some rules for searching for gold in the 1800s, and the four main characters – 8-year-old Jem, 5-year-old Ellie, Pa, and Mama – plus 3 rules for panning for gold. The two siblings are panning for gold, working Jem’s very own claim. With short, simply sentences, it was an easy chapter to read through, but by the end of the chapter, my daughter had just two questions:

Where’s the dog? and Can we read the other book?

Taking A Detour

With no interest in continuing on with Jem Strikes Gold, we began Jem’s Frog Fiasco where my daughter quickly learned that Jem and Ellie now had a dog named Nugget – and the answer to both her questions. Again, we made it through chapter 1, but her interest quickly subsided and we paused.

Opting to keep reading a fun experience, I’d rather take days, or even weeks, to get through a new story with my children. Reading when they are interested, breaking when they lose focus. This approach has given me four avid readers, so it’s not one I’m changing any time soon.

Finishing What We Started

Over the next few weeks, we worked our way through both stories taking in a few pages at a time. In Jem Strikes Gold , we followed as Jem went about life in a coal mining camp. The family worked hard together, with Pa mining for gold and Mama selling pies and cleaning laundry. Jem attended the local school and helped his family with chores.

Yet the children quickly fell in love with a golden colored puppy brought back to the camp by one of the other miners. However, barely able to afford food for the family, the parents do not allow the children to adopt the dog. The dog, however, has other plans and adopts the children. After protecting Jem and Ellie from the town rich-kid (and bully), Nugget is officially adopted by Jem and his family.

In Jem’s Frog Fiasco, Jem finds himself a job collecting and delivering bullfrogs to a local business for 5-cents per frog. With his earnings, he hopes to be able to afford some meat for Nugget, who is living of scraps from the family meals. Dreaming of new-found wealth, Jem is quickly frustrated with Ellie who keeps scaring off the frogs, and tells her to go home. Ellie doesn’t return home, though. After an exhaustive search, Jem located his sister in a coyote hole with the help of Nugget.

Historical Fiction for Young Readers

The Goldtown Beginnings series may be fiction titles for younger audiences, but they are filled with historical information as well. Set in a mining camp in the 1800s, these books introduce readers to life during the gold rush. Living conditions, family life, and the reality of days without modern conveniences are all addressed.

Following the conclusion of each story, readers can take a peek into the past where additional details are offered. Readers are also encouraged to check out the free coloring pages and activities. These are perfect to take these two books from simply being a fun read-aloud to something you can create a unit study with, diving deep into US history, geography, reading comprehension, and more.

Included also is a lesson plan, comprehension questions, a US map, vocabulary work, a maze, and math problems.

While we did not use these pages, the look like a fantastic resource. For us, we focused on reading the two books and enjoyed the fun, humor, and lessons contained within each one.

Goldtown Beginnings is Just Getting Started

Jem Strikes Gold and Jem’s Frog Fiasco are just the beginning of the Goldtown Beginnings series. With four additional titles listed in the books, readers can follow Jem and Ellie as they take on a thief, dig up some trouble, find a reward, and survive a wild winter.

All the while, readers will learn the history of gold camps and towns, what life was like in the 1800s, and how this family survives.

Filed with pictures to help readers understand the story, opportunities to do the right thing, and warm characters to help Jem and Ellie, these first two titles from author Susan K. Marlow are a great way to introduce chapter books, history, and fun to your younger readers.

And even though we didn’t read these titles in order, my daughter and I are looking forward to checking out the additional titles in this series from Kregel Publications in the future.

Check out all the crew reviews.