Gold Fever (Picture Puffin Books)
First-time author Kay's gloriously terse verse takes a rhymin' romp through the gold fields of 1849 California. "Dashing westward,/ Many miners./ Townsfolk snicker,/ 'Forty-niners.' " So begins the dynamic tale of a farmer named Jasper who leaves home and hearth to find his fortune. Kay shoehorns a motherlode of historical information into her minimalist chronicle of Jasper's misadventures. As Kay tots up Jasper's provisions ("Packed a shovel,/ Pistol, pick,/ Goldpan, bedroll,/ Walking stick"), describes the often disagreeable conditions on the journey west ("Prairie-dust storm,/ River, rocks./ Desert, sagebrush,/ Holes in socks") and sketches the disappointments that await ("Grumpy miners,/ Nuggets?small./ Jasper scowling,/ Fireside brawl"), Schindler's (Don't Fidget a Feather) jaunty colored pencil illustrations skillfully move the action forward, adding layers of texture and detail with flashes of humor. A rich vein of Americana, cleverly mined. Ages 4-8.Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.