Blood Gold by Michael
Cadnum            210
pages

• After an arduous journey,
  Will Dwinelle and his friend Ben finally reach California in 1849
  intending to bring home the man who betrayed the honor of a girl back home
  in Philadelphia, but find themselves tempted by the riches of the Gold
  Rush. 

Al
Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer
Choldenko         317 pages

• A twelve-year-old boy named
  Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed
  there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in
  addition to life with his autistic sister. 

Purely
Rosie Pearl by Patricia A.
Cochrane             
135 pages

• In 1936 twelve-year-old
  Rosie Pearl Bush and her family of migrants endure the hardships of the
  Great Depression as they find work picking fruit in the California
  Valley. 

Quake! : a novel by Joe
Cottonwood                  
146 pages

• With their parents away at
  the 1989 World Series, fourteen-year-old Franny, her younger brother, and
  their cousin try to cope with the frightening events following an
  earthquake that destroys their home on Loma Prieta mountain. 

The
Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen
Cushman.             195
pages

• In 1849, twelve-year-old
  California Morning Whipple, who renames herself Lucy, is distraught when
  her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a rough California
  mining town. 

The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen
Cushman         225 pages

• In 1949, thirteen-year-old
  Francine goes to Catholic school in Los Angeles where she becomes best
  friends with a girl who questions authority and is frequently punished by
  the nuns, causing Francine to question her own values. 

The
Journal of Ben Uchida, Citizen 13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp by
Barry Denenberg  159 pages

• Series: My Name is America
• Twelve-year-old Ben Uchida
  keeps a journal of his experiences as a prisoner in a Japanese internment
  camp in Mirror Lake, California, during World War II. 

Death Valley, California, 1849 by Kathleen Duey and K.A.
Bale.          168 pages

• Series: Survival ; #6
• A brother and sister
  struggle to survive the rigors of Death Valley after their wagon breaks an
  axle and they set out alone to find help for their stranded family and injured
  father.  

Earthquake,
San Francisco, 1906 by Kathleen Duey and K. A.
Bale         174 pages

• Series: Survival! ; #2
• When two young strangers
  meet by chance on the day of the San Francisco earthquake, they struggle
  to survive the terror of crumbling buildings, fire, looting, and
  chaos. 

The
Journal of C.J. Jackson : a Dust Bowl Migrant by William Durbin 

• Series: My
  name is America
• Thirteen-year-old C.J.
  records in a journal the conditions of the Dust Bowl that cause the
  Jackson family to leave their farm in Oklahoma and make the difficult
  journey to California, where they find a harsh life as migrant
  workers. 

Bandit’s
Moon by Sid
Fleischman                            136
pages

• Twelve-year-old Annyrose
  relates her adventures with Joaquin Murieta and his band of outlaws in the
  California gold-mining region during the mid-1800s.  

By
the Great Horn Spoon by Sid
Fleischman            193
pages

• Aunt Arabella's butler,
  Praiseworthy, and her nephew stowaway on a ship to win a fortune for her
  in California during the Gold Rush of 1849. 

The
Giant Rat of Sumatra or Pirates Galore by Sid Fleischman         
194 pages

• A cabin boy on a pirate
  ship finds himself in San Diego in 1846 as war breaks out between the
  United States and Mexico. 

Walk
Across the Sea by Susan
Fletcher                    
214 pages

• In late nineteenth-century
  California, when Chinese immigrants are being driven out or even killed
  for fear they will take jobs from whites, fifteen-year-old Eliza Jane
  McCully defies the townspeople and her lighthouse-keeper father to help a
  Chinese boy who has been kind to her. 

The
Valley of the Moon, the Journal of Maria Rosalia de Milagros by Sherry
Garland  218 pages

• Series: Dear America
• The 1845-1846 diary of
  thirteen-year-old Maria, servant to the wealthy Spanish family which took
  her in when her Indian mother died. Includes a historical note about the
  settlement and early history of California. 

Earthquake at Dawn by Kristiana
Gregory                   192
pages

• A novelization of
  twenty-two-year-old photographer Edith Irvine's experiences in the
  aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, as seen through the eyes
  of fifteen-year-old Daisy, a fictitious traveling companion. 

Orphan
Runaways by Kristiana
Gregory                   
151 pages

• Harrowing adventures
  accompany twelve-year-old Danny and his younger brother Judd when they run
  away from a San Francisco orphanage and search for their uncle in a gold
  rush boom town.  

Seeds
of Hope; the Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild by Kristiana
Gregory  186 pages

• A diary account of
  fourteen-year-old Susanna Fairchild's life in 1849, when her father
  succumbs to gold fever on the way to establish his medical practice in
  Oregon after losing his wife and money on their steamship journey from New
  York. 

Into
the Firestorm by Deborah
Hopkinson                  
200 pages

• Days after arriving in San
  Francisco from Texas, eleven-year-old orphan Nicholas Dray tries to help
  his new neighbors survive the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the
  subsequent fires.  

The
Iron Dragon Never Sleeps by Stephen Krensky 

• In 1867, while staying with
  her father in a small California mining town, ten-year-old Winnie meets a
  Chinese boy close to her age and discovers the role of his people in
  completing the transcontinental railroad. 

Earthquake! A Story of Old San Francisco by Kathleen
Kudlinski      56 pages

• In 1906, after the
  devastating earthquake hits San Francisco, twelve-year-old Phillip
  struggles to save the horses in his family's livery stable. 

Patty
Reed’s Doll by Rachel K.
Laurgaard                
143 pages

• In the winter of 1846, the
  Donner Party was stranded by heavy snows in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
  The pioneers endured bitter hardships, and many of them died. But some
  survived, including 8-year-old Patty Reed, a girl filled with dignity and
  determination in the face of mortal danger. This is her story, as told by
  Dolly, the wooden doll she kept hidden in her dress. 

The Balloon Boy of San Francisco by Dorothy Kapcha
Leland       121 pages

• In 1853, a San Francisco
  newspaper boy struggles to support his family. An encounter with a hot-air
  balloon brings adventure and opportunity. 

Sallie
Fox: The Story of a Pioneer Girl by Dorothy Kapcha
Leland      114 pages

• A fictionalized account of
  the true story of 12-year-old Sallie Fox and her family's wagon train
  journey from Iowa to Vacaville, California. 

Clem’s
Chances by Sonia
Levitin            199
pages

• In 1860, fourteen-year-old
  Clem Fontayne learns from fellow travelers about important topics of the
  day, including the Mormon migration, slavery, and the Pony express, as he
  journeys from Missouri to California in search of his father. 

Summer
Soldiers by Susan Hart
Lindquist               178
pages

• After his father goes off
  to war during the summer of 1918, eleven-year-old Joe, along with his
  friends, contends with the town bullies and tries to figure out the
  meaning of courage.   

Bellboy:
A Mule Train Journey by Margaret
McClain         152 pages

• A young man's trip by mule
  train through the California mountains proves too exciting.  

Island
of the Blue Dolphins by Scott
O'Dell             181
pages

• Left alone on a beautiful
  but isolated island off the coast of California, a young Indian girl
  spends eighteen years, not only merely surviving through her enormous
  courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary
  life.  

Zia
by Scott
O'Dell.                        179
pages

• Sequel to: Island of the
  Blue Dolphins.
• A young Indian girl, Zia,
  caught between the traditional world of her mother and the present world
  of the Mission, is helped by her aunt Karana whose story was told in the
  Island of the Blue Dolphins.  

The
Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds : the Donner Party Expedition by Rodman
Philbrick   155 pages 

• Series: My name is America
• Douglas Deeds, a
  fifteen-year-old orphan, keeps a journal of his travels by wagon train as
  a member of the ill-fated Donner Party, which became stranded in the
  Sierra Nevada mountains in the winter of 1846-47.   

Treasures
in the Dust by Tracey
Porter               
148 pages

• Eleven-year-old Annie and
  her friend Violet tell of the hardships endured by their families when
  dust storms, drought, and the Great Depression hit rural
  Oklahoma.  

Foster’s
War by Carolyn
Reeder                  267
pages

• When his older brother joins
  the army during World War II in order to escape the rages of an
  authoritarian father, eleven-year-old Foster fights his battles on the
  homefront.  

The
Strange Case of Baby H by Kathryn
Reiss.             155
pages

• In the aftermath of the
  1906 San Francisco earthquake, twelve-year-old Clara finds a baby left on
  the doorstep of her family's boarding house, and sets out to unravel the surrounding
  mysteries. 

Esperanza
Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

• Esperanza and her mother are
  forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in
  the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh
  circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great
  Depression.   

Riding
Freedom by Pam Munoz
Ryan                
138 pages

• A fictionalized account of
  Charley (Charlotte) Parkhurst who ran away from an orphanage, posed as a
  boy, moved to California, and fooled everyone by her
  appearance.    

Cat
Running by Zilpha Keatley
Synder            
168 pages

• When eleven-year-old Cat
  Kinsey builds a secret hideout to escape her unhappy homelife, she slowly
  gets to know a poor family who have come to California after losing their
  Texas home to the dust storms of the 1930s.  

Mother’s Blessing by Penina Keen
Spinka               217
pages

• Around the year 1000 an
  intelligent Chumash Indian girl, rejected by her father, follows the call
  of her spirit guide and seeks to fulfill an old seer's prophecy that she
  will become an important leader of her people.   

Black
Storm Coming by Diane Lee
Wilson               295
pages

• Twelve-year-old Colton, son
  of a black mother and a white father, takes a job with the Pony Express in
  1860 after his father abandons the family on their California-bound wagon
  train, and risks his life to deliver an important letter that may affect
  the growing conflict between the North and South.  

Dragon’s
Gate by Laurence
Yep                     273
pages

• When he accidentally kills
  a Manchu, a fifteen-year-old Chinese boy is sent to America to join his father,
  an uncle, and other Chinese working to build a tunnel for the
  transcontinental railroad through the Sierra Nevada mountains in
  1867.  

The
Earth Dragon Awakes by Laurence
Yep              117
pages

• Eight-year-old Henry and
  nine-year-old Chin love to read about heroes in popular "penny
  dreadful" novels, until they both witness real courage while trying
  to survive the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.  

The
Journal of Wong Ming-Chung : a Chinese Miner by Laurence
Yep         219 pages

• Series: My name is America
• A young Chinese boy
  nicknamed Runt records his experiences in a journal as he travels from
  southern China to California in 1852 to join his uncle during the Gold
  Rush.