Boom Town Author:Sonia Levitin Bored by cabin life in the sparse settlement, Amanada figures out how to bake a gooseberry pie in the family's crude wood stove. Soon prospectors are paying for her pies, and her business success spills over to the other folks who've decided to settle there.
This historical fiction story tells about Amanda who moves across the country to California with her family. They had a long journey and arrive to a tent city without much of anything. Her father goes off to pan for gold to earn money for the family and her brothers do work in the fields. She feels a little bored and decides to bake a pie but needs to be resourceful as she doesn't have a pie pan. Her pie doesn't turn out at first but she doesn't give up. When her father goes away to pan for gold she gives him a pie for the trip. He returns with money as it seems the others paid him for a slice of pie. Amanda decides to start a business and becomes an entrepreneur. She also encourages others in the town to start businesses to meet needs of the town. Soon the town has a tailor, a store, a laundry, a horse stable, a hotel, a bank, and a school. Soon the town is booming.
I thought the story was written in language children would understand and did a great job in telling about the gold rush. It also teaches math concepts with goods, services, producers and entrepreneurship.