The Wurtherington Diary Tammy and the California Gold Rush, Book 4, (Paperback)

Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level is 3.8 suitable for 8 to adult readers. This edition is the full length 19.900 word edition. An abbreviated edition for 8-12 is available with 4,800 words. Another edition for 8-10 age readers contains 4100 words.This is the fourth historical adventure from the "The Wurtherington Diary" series. Prepare to meet Cedric the mongoose, Zeke the orphaned opossum, and Alfred the kingly mouse. Now you will meet Polly the vulture who can be made enormous with a magic spell and flies Tammy and her friends from place to place. This adventure comes to life from Tammy's newly discovered diary that was written in 1883. The original art is enhanced by Duy Truong. As with all the Wurtherington Diary books, this one abounds in developing worthwhile feelings for its young readers. Things like honesty, compassion, and respect for others abound on very page. Prepare for another rollicking adventure as Tammy and her cute little critters head for the gold fields of California in order to set the space-time continuum back in order. Tammy starts off her day in Rivers Falls Ohio as though it were an ordinary day. On her way to school she discovers that River Falls is a shanty town and The California Gold Company occupies the space where the church once stood. When it rains the roof nearly caves in at her school for lack of maintenance. Of course it is the space-time continuum that has caused all this and Tammy and her friends are soon sent to 1848 to see that the California Gold Rush is set back in order. Was it that gold was not discovered on that fateful day in 1848 or was it that some evil empire rose up because of it?Tammy is sent back into time by the good sorceress, Lucinda to meet with John Sutter and James Marshall in hopes that gold will be discovered properly. They discover that finding gold is easy and then not so easy when one isn't really looking for it. Six months later Tammy and her friends all find themselves in Coloma, now a boomtown, hit with gold fever. Law and order has completely disappeared and those with the fastest guns rule the goldfields. Slickest of all is Jessie Cole, owner of the Sourdough Saloon and Hotel, who routinely cheats the miners out of their mines in crooked poker games. Tammy becomes friends with Jessie Cole and he appoints her sheriff as he calculates Tammy will be his "patsy". Tammy announces that the toughest men in the West will be on the morning stage to become her deputies and cleanup the town. The stage arrives with Rattlesnake Cedric and Mad Dog Zeke ( her animal friends) and the town thinks they are a joke until Rattlesnake Cedric rounds up live rattlers for breakfast. The pair become instant legends and quickly clean up the town with one daring deed after another. All of this is accomplished without violence or the use of firearms. Hopefully, Tammy and her associates can stop the scheming Jessie Cole and his gang from creating an evil empire that culminates in Jessie becoming the President of the United States. Plan to enjoy these wonderful heartfelt characters in a breathless adventure for young and old.