Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Kregel Publications - Goldtown Beginning by Susan K. Marlow Review






We are HUGE fans of Susan K. Marlow books.  We recently had the opportunity to review one of her newest series from Kregel Publications - Goldtown Beginnings.  We reviewed Book 1 - Jem Strikes Gold and Book 2 - Jem's Frog Fiasco



In Book 1 - Jem Strikes Gold, Jem and his Sister Ellie, along with his Pa and Ma are working on their own Gold prospect site.  It's the height of the gold rush, and Jem wants to strike gold.  But he and his sister must also need to work with their family.  But there's a boy that is making it hard very hard for Jem, and he doesn't know how to take care of the town bully.  

For Book 2 - Jem's Frog Fiasco, the siblings adventures continue.  After proving to his parents that he can keep his new friend, Jem must be able to help keep his dog Nugget fed.  Jem finds a job providing bullfrogs to a local cafe owner.  But things turn to chaos and Ellie runs away from Jem because he is angry with her.  Now where did she go?  

The Goldtown Beginnings Series is written for the early elementary age group, roughly 6-9.  Both the girls are older than this, but they have always loved all of the books that Susan K. Marlow has written.  They are set in a historical time period of the mid 1800s during the California Gold Rush.  This series makes a great, fun read to go along with that time period while you are studying it with young children.  It shows them what life was like during this time period from a kids view.  It definitely puts a more lighthearted approach to a time period that at time was bleak for many, and shows that kids really could have some adventures.  Susan K. Marlow has mystery, history, and laughs all tied up for this age appropriate range.



Another feature that makes them great to add to your living history reading, there's a vocabulary page in the cover of each book to help students with those new words.



You can also purchase a study guide from the Goldtown Beginnings website that helps you use this series as for language arts, geography, history, bible, math and science, and even life skills.  Taking all the work out of this for you as the planner and putting all the fun back into reading!  This turns the Goldtown Beginnings series into a full curriculum for your child.  Susan has also created a lapbook series for young children to use along with their reading.  But they also offer free downloadable coloring pages and other activities.  

Thanks for more fun adventures from the wonderful author!!  And more good quality materials from Kregel Publications.  More adventures are due out in 2020 from the Goldtown Beginnings crew, and I can't wait to see what other mystery and fun that Jem and Ellie find.

You can keep up with more adventures from Susan K. Marlow by joining their Circle C Adventures/Goldtown Facebook page.  

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review the Goldtown Beginnings series.  Click on the link below to see what they thought of the latest series from Susan K. Marlow.


Jem Strikes Gold & Jem's Frog Fiasco  {Kregel Publications Reviews}

Crew Disclaimer


1 comment:

  1. Thanks for your nice review. I'm so glad even older children can enjoy this series. :-)
    -Susan

    ReplyDelete