Goldtown Beginnings

It's 1859. Seven-year-old Jem Coulter's family is trying to make a go of it in Goldtown, California, with Pa panning for gold and Mama baking pies and washing laundry to make ends meet. Jem and his little sister Ellie do everything they can to help out. But it's hard to help when Will Sterling, a rich boy with a mean streak, picks on Jem every time he runs errands for Mama.

Jem needs to buy food for his dog Gold Nugget. But try as he may, his panning just never leads to gold. When he asks for a job, Mr. Sims, the café owner, sends him out to catch bullfrogs for the menu. Money and frog-catching - what a great solution for this active boy! But Nugget and Jem's little sister Ellie get in the way and ruin his plans. When he argues with Ellie, she stomps off in a huff, and Jem can get back to work.

Jem can't wait for school to let out for the year. Is there anything more boring than class when you could be outside? When rich boy Will brings a coin collection to school, it's an exciting treat. It isn't often the students get to see all that interesting money in one place. Then, a silver dollar goes missing during recess, and Jem is blamed!

Jem is turning eight years old. And there's just one thing he wants for his birthday: a prospecting trip with Strike-It-Rich Sam. With his grown-up friend to watch out for him, Jem's parents say yes. It's off for two weeks in the mountains to find gold! But this trip isn't going as planned. There are more tall tales from Sam than there are deep pockets of gold ore.

No one really knows where Jem’s beloved dog, Nugget, came from when Strike-It-Rich Sam found him. Jem doesn’t care; he just knows he loves his pup. But now, “missing dog” posters are going up around town, and the dog looks just like Nugget! It turns out the pooch is a golden retriever, a brand-new breed that’s very rare.

Winter in Goldtown, California, is rarely harsh. But this year snow covers the whole area. No one can get out to pan for gold in the icy creek for weeks on end. There’s never been a winter like this in all Jem’s eight years. That means all the wild critters are coming down to the low country looking for food to stay alive. It isn’t all bad, though - animals mean Pa can put out a trapline to make some money for the family. Jem goes along to help with the traps. But a sudden storm leaves them both stranded in the wilderness.