The Bite of the Gold Bug: A Story of the Alaskan Gold Rush (Once upon America)

Bucky and his father, prospecting for gold in Alaska in 1898, must overcome storms, dangerous mountain trails, and wilderness predators before confronting the final challenge of human treachery

Grade 4-6-- Twelve-year-old Bucky's adventures begin when his feckless Uncle Tanner persuades his dad to join the Klondike gold stampeders. Soon the boy and the two men begin the rigorous journey from Seattle to his uncle's river claim. The ending of the story is rather abrupt, and there is little time for character development. The journey occupies 38 of the book's 56 pages; unfortunately, no map is included, and the pencil illustrations don't convey the same drama DeClements describes. While she supplies flavorful period details, readers may be left reaching for the historical background. One hopes that their search takes them to the resources she alludes to in a helpful afterword, including Robert Service's poetry. The illustrations and maps missing here can be found in Michael Cooper's Klondike Fever (Clarion, 1989) and Delia Ray's Gold! (Lodestar, 1989). For fiction about the California gold rush, try Dorothy Hoobler's Treasure in the Stream (Silver Burdett, 1991). --Sally Bates Goodroe, Houston Public Library
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Here, in an excellent addition to the ``Once Upon America'' series, Bucky, 12, vividly describes the extremes he endures--and others fail to endure--to strike it rich in 1897. The 1000-mile trek to Dawson City begins in mid-March and takes months as Bucky's Pa and Uncle Tanner each haul a year's supply of food over the grueling trail. The work of shoveling muck into the sluice box, rinsing, scraping gravel from riffles, and panning for gold is relentless but also rewarding as gold flakes accumulate. When Bucky and his father realize that Uncle Tanner may be gambling away their hard-earned profits, they track him down and head for home. DeClements's warmly drawn characters and taut account will have kids hungering to know more about this bit of history. A closing note combines historical fact with the author's own experience of Alaska. Illustrations not seen. (Fiction. 7-11) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.