Nicole Rodgers: By the Great Horn Spoon- Historical Fiction

By the Great Horn Spoon

by Sid Fleischman

Jack makes the choice that many are making in the early 1950's on the east coast... head to the gold fields and strike it rich to help save the family. The only problem? Jack is twelve without much of a real plan. Cue Praiseworthy, Jack's dearest Aunt Arabella's butler who is along for the bumpy ride. The ride around the horn is literally quite bumpy, not to mention their rough issues after sneaking on as potato barrel stowaways and turning themselves in to the Captain himself! Jack and Praiseworthy, after meeting many interesting characters (including thief Cut Eye Higgins who stole a treasure map from the honest Dr. Buckbee) work their way through passage and make it safely to San Francisco. Thanks to Praiseworthy's cunning ways, they even make enough money to buy "Master Jack" a horn spoon for the diggings. 

Finally headed out to the gold fields, but missing yet another opportunity to outwit Cut Eye when road agents come barging through their ride, Praiseworthy and Jack find the need for a squirrel gun... (for protection of course) for their claim! Master Jack becomes "Jamocha Jack," and Praiseworthy becomes, "Bullwhip," they run yet again into the cutpurse and devise a plan. It isn't until the two are forced to build a six foot grave for this most despised character that they "hit bedrock," and finally have a claim that is worth something. All of the mishaps seem to be laughable now, until the ship sinks on their way back to port... 

While this seems to be shaping up to be representative of the story of each gold miner in California... history rings even more true when the family (Aunt Arabella included) makes their way to California, labels are lost (Bye bye Butler, Hello Uncle Bullwhip), and they decide to make money off people instead of hitting it rich! 

As a fourth grade student, this book was the first I remembered being read aloud. Rereading this book as a teacher, I fell in love with it even more. This book is required reading for any California history class, as it is filled with rich contextual history, and the themes are also representative of the era. Students and teachers alike will be transported into this era with humor! Both hilarious and a great addition to the history of California, this book is as much of a gem to me now as it was ten years ago,