Ten-year old Millie Powell's father, a Klondike Gold Rush stampeder, is missing. Millie and her mother arrive in Dyea, Alaska in November 1897 to search for him. Devastated to learn of his accidental death, Millie wants only to return home to Victoria. While her mother works to earn money for their passage, Millie resents the difficult living conditions and fears they'll never leave Dyea. She struggles to find a sense of belonging until she meets a young friend, Thomas, and his dog Rosie. When Thomas heads up the Chilkoot trail with his uncles, he leaves Rosie in Millie's care until spring.
Disaster strikes in April ? an avalanche kills many climbers on the trail. The tragic reminder of how Millie's father died prompts her mother to decide it's time to go home. Activity in Dyea slows once the gold seekers move on, but Millie has found reasons to stay. As departure time looms, she plots to persuade her mother to relocate instead to the growing town of Skagway, and to embrace their new way of life.
Autorentext
A passion for reading about nature, science, and history led Gillian Richardson to write over 20 children's books, including both fiction (novels, picture books, chapter books, short stories), and nonfiction. Bestsellers, Kaboom! Explosions of All Kinds, and 10 Plants That Shook the World, won international awards. Recent ebook publications include chapter books Ollie Buggins, Detective?, Take Me With You, both for ages 6-8, and Chasing Gold, for ages 8-10. An Instinct for Survival: Ten Nature Adventures is a collection of short stories for ages 9-12. For older readers, Seasons at Shiregreene is a memoir that recounts years spent in Prince Edward Island. Her latest ebook is The Forever Place, a coming-of-age novel for 10-14 exploring themes of environment and accepting change.