Jason's Gold

Good Y.A. novel about the gold rush in the Klondike near the Alaskan border of Canada. Kind of rough actions make this better for more mature readers (15 and up?).

This is a fifteen-year-old boy's adventure aboard a train, a ship and afoot as he journeys to the Klondike in the late 1800s.
Incredible discoveries await the reader of this survival tale.

Hobbs, W. (1999). Jason’s gold. New York: HarperCollins.

Grade Levels: 7th – 11th grades
Category: Historical Fiction
Read-Alouds: page 1 (the story of the gold rush breaks), pages 30-34 (Jason getting tips from people along the way about what to look out for), pages 65-68 (getting supplies together for the trip), pages 85-87 (Jason’s encounters with the Tlingit tribe members), pages 109-115 (getting down the Yukon River), pages 133-134 (Jason spending the night by himself down the Yukon), pages 147-151 (the starvation and effects of the gold rush being described to Jason), page 162 (Jason eating just enough to survive), pages 182-183 (Jason’s encounter with the bear), pages 190-193 (end of May, beginning of June in Alaska), page show more 205 (Jason and Jack reuniting)

Summary: Jason Hawthorne is a 15-year-old boy that hops a train to Seattle, where he stows away on a ship that is headed for the gold rush in the Klondike. Jason and his dog join thousands of other prospectors hoping to strike it rich. He is forced to make this trip on his own after his brothers have left without him and with his inheritance. Jason encounters the sub arctic winter weather, bears, and moose. Jason is seeking shelter in a den that he thought was abandoned; however, the bear came back to the den. When Jason was face-to-face with the bear, he took his ax and delivered a fatal blow to its head. Jason ends up searching for his brothers and trying to survive.

Themes:
The main theme of this book is survival. Jason is forced to survive in the Alaskan wild while he is trying to find his brothers and be a part of the gold rush. Another way that Jason has to survive is when he encounters the bear. Jason has to kill the bear in order for him to be able to live. Another theme of this book is the bond that brothers have between them. Jason risks his life in order to find his brothers that have taken off for the Klondike with the inheritance after their father dies.

Discussion Questions:
How would you deal with being in Alaska in the winter time by yourself?
What would be your first reaction to hearing about a gold rush?
If you had brothers that took off with your inheritance, what would you do?
How would you handle a close encounter with a bear?

Reader Response:
I liked this book because of the genre. I haven’t read a lot of historical fiction books in my life, so I really enjoyed how the author put a real part of history in his story. I think students would really enjoy reading this survival story about Jason. I had a difficult time wanting to put this book down because I really wanted Jason and his brothers to reunite. I spent a lot of time cheering for Jason to survive as well. show less

WORST BOOK EVER!!! I didn't want to read this but my 6th grade teacher made me.

My inspiration. Will Hobbs is incredibly insightful.

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