Goldtown Beginnings

Seven-year-old Jem Coulter's family is trying to make a go of it in Goldtown, 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. When Will's antics end up ruining the pies, Jem's had enough. No pies means no money for the whole family! How can he get Will to stop? When Strike-It-Rich Sam, Jem's prospector friend, shows up with a scrawny dog, Jem might have an answer to the bully problem. The brave pup can protect them-if only Jem can convince his parents that another mouth to feed is a good idea...

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. He heads home with a bucket full of frogs and the knowledge that he'll have plenty of cash for Nugget's food. There's just one big problem-no one knows where Ellie has gone. She's disappeared! Search parties go out, but no matter where they look, there's no sign of her. And Jem knows that it's all his fault for yelling at her. Can he find Ellie before it's too late?

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! After all, he's the only one who went indoors on this sunny day. When a charm bracelet is stolen the next day, more fingers point his way. Jem knows he isn't the culprit. But how can he prove it? To clear his name, Jem sets a trap for the mystery thief-his sister's gold locket lays in plain sight on his desk as bait. Will it go missing too? Or will Jem's good name be muddied forever?

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. And the map to rich diggings they brought along doesn't have any treasure at the end of it. Striking it rich is a lot harder than it looks. When they find an unexpected cache, things seem to be looking up. But Jem and Sam shouldn't count their gold nuggets before they get home. An injury, a bad detour, and other problems plague them. Not only are they empty-handed, they might never make it home at all!

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. A rich man from Scotland was visiting San Francisco when one of his dogs was lost in the mountains above Goldtown. There's a reward for the dog's return-and mean Will Sterling wants the money. Jem is desperate to keep his furry best friend, and he's sure Nugget wants to stay with him too. But when he tries to hide out in the woods, he has no idea of the danger that awaits them.

There's never been a winter like this in all of Jem Coulter's eight years. After weeks of heavy snowfall, no one can pan for gold. And all the wild critters from rabbits to cougars are coming down to the low country around Goldtown 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 is excited to help with this grownup job, until their overnight campsite in the wintery woods has an unexpected visitor. Now they're in the most danger Jem's ever faced!