Call of the Klondike

August 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-Stanley Pearce and Marshall Bond were adventurous young men in the summer of 1897 when they watched prospectors coming into Seattle from Canada's Northwest Territories. Loaded down with gold dust, the prospectors told of the incredible riches to be found in the Klondike. Pearce and Bond both came from mining families and felt certain that their fortunes would be made if they could convince their parents to advance them money to venture north. With the funding forthcoming, the two mounted a well-planned, swiftly mobilized expedition that would see them working at superhuman levels for nearly a year-and returning with little to show for their efforts. Coauthor Richardson is a descendant of Pearce. Using the men's letters, along with newpaper accounts, excerpts from Bond's diary, and period photographs and reproductions, the book brings immediacy to the experience of young men in extreme conditions. The writing style is engaging, the inclusion of primary-source documents seamless, and the story thoroughly engrossing. Despite the high-interest nature of the text, the syntax and spelling could prove challenging for many students because much of it was written by late-Victorians. However, with some guidance, the book will find a readership. More focused on the experience of a few specific individuals than Charlotte Foltz Jones's Yukon Gold (Holiday House, 1999), this is excellent reading not only for interest, but also for support of the Common Core Standards as it is an excellent example of text complexity. The bibliography rounds out this volume nicely. Solid fare.-Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2013
A remarkable collection of documents paints a picture of the Klondike gold rush in vivid detail. In 1897, two 20-something Yale grads, Stanley Pearce and Marshall Bond, were among the first to hear about the gold found in the Klondike. They quickly booked tickets on a ship, gathered food and equipment, and headed north, hoping to strike it rich. Their mining backgrounds and monetary help from their families gave them an edge over their fellow fortune seekers, but the obstacles were still enormous, as their letters make clear, including two months of grueling travel over mountain passes and down the Yukon River. Adding only transitional paragraphs, the authors skillfully arrange these letters plus diary entries, telegrams and Pearce's articles for the Denver Republican to convey the men's story in compelling, first-person voices. The attractive design incorporates intriguing pull-out quotes, maps, posters, documents and many well-chosen, captioned photographs, including one of Jack London, who camped near Pearce and Bond's cabin. London, also mentioned in a diary entry, later kept in touch with Bond and based the fictional dog Buck on one of Bond's dogs, making this an excellent companion to The Call of the Wild. A memorable adventure, told with great immediacy. (timeline, author's notes, bibliography, resources) (Nonfiction. 11 & up)

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

A remarkable collection of documents paints a picture of the Klondike gold rush in vivid detail. In 1897, two 20-something Yale grads, Stanley Pearce and Marshall Bond, were among the first to hear about the gold found in the Klondike. They quickly booked tickets on a ship, gathered food and equipment, and headed north, hoping to strike it rich. Their mining backgrounds and monetary help from their families gave them an edge over their fellow fortune seekers, but the obstacles were still enormous, as their letters make clear, including two months of grueling travel over mountain passes and down the Yukon River. Adding only transitional paragraphs, the authors skillfully arrange these letters plus diary entries, telegrams and Pearce's articles for the Denver Republican to convey the men's story in compelling, first-person voices. The attractive design incorporates intriguing pull-out quotes, maps, posters, documents and many well-chosen, captioned photographs, including one of Jack London, who camped near Pearce and Bond's cabin. London, also mentioned in a diary entry, later kept in touch with Bond and based the fictional dog Buck on one of Bond's dogs, making this an excellent companion to The Call of the Wild. A memorable adventure, told with great immediacy. (timeline, author's notes, bibliography, resources) (Nonfiction. 11 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 15, 2013
Grades 7-10 Hearing the cry of Gold! Marshall Bond and Stanley Pearce readied themselves for prospecting for gold in the Klondike. The friends, in their late twenties, had mining backgrounds and college degrees, and well-to-do families to fund their trip. From September 1897 to July 1898, they survived exposure to a harsh winter (negative-60 degrees), endless summer days, hardship, and near-death. They never struck it rich, but they learned a great deal about themselves. An authors' note describes how the book was born when Richardson, the great-great-nephew of Pearce, told his friend, Meissner, about a bag of letters that had been handed down in his family. Intertwining these letters, telegrams, and newspaper reports with historical research, archival photographs, and a personal hike over the Chilkoot Trail, Meissner then collaborated to compose this eye-opening work, which is a natural companion for Jack London's Call of the Wild and other historical-fiction works about the Klondike gold rush.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
The authors relate the story of the Canadian gold rush using letters, telegrams, and diary entries from two gold seekers (coauthor Richardson is the great-great-nephew of one of the subjects) who spent a fortune and a lot of time for very little result. The chaotic design features black-and-white archival reproductions of newspaper articles and photographs. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)