Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

This would be a fantastic way to introduce a unit on the Gold Rush! The illustrations are absolutely stunning and help give context and aid in understanding. This picture book is organized by chapter which makes it a great resource for students to learn bits at a time, to pop in and out of the book, or learn more about a specific topic within the unit. I can see using this in upper elementary through high school: In elementary of course the teacher would be doing more of the guiding and reading; in high school it would be a great way to give some background knowledge in an accessible way. This would be a great addition to any school, classroom, or public library or a great gift for a budding historian!

Whenever I had previously heard "gold rush" I thought of mountain men who were panning for gold out west. Now I know the true story of the amazing Klondike women who helped start the gold rush and paved the way for others. My daughters loved the illustrations and asked me to reread it over and over again.

More than interesting, this tells the story of the Klondike or Yukon gold rush – but from the less-accepted point of view. It starts out feeling rather heavily loaded towards the First Nations, but the region has to be put in the right context – and then the book tells the story of the 'stampeders' with an eye to only women characters. Here are the females that struggled across the mountains to the area of Dawson City, here those that rushed to get there first and establish a hotel and restaurant, or shops, to make their profits that way – here too is the local lass who probably found the first nugget of gold in the first place.

Or, that should read, who first took the then-modern panning and mining approaches to the region; there were enough people in that corner of the world who knew about the gold, and their lot was of course much inferior to any claims staked out by white men. This did kind of dump on their backyard, displacing many peoples – and within a few years it was practically all over and the hardy souls had gambolled off to gamble on the next source of income. All told, this is a welcome read for covering the story this way – and it certainly looks the part, showing the drama of the Chilkoot Staircase and the whole scale of the enterprise. Like some books that overload on wokeness it may struggle with the bare bones of it all (although this is nowhere near as bad as that space science book I saw that only featured women – and so had to leave out the fact we'd walked on the moon…). But just as the small font, dense print doesn't quite match the young-friendly design, so this was always going to be a 'my SECOND gold rush' volume anyway. Add this to the full story, the book that does dare to include those horrid white men and all their evils, and this is a more than worthwhile companion volume. A strong four stars.

This is a very interesting view of the Klondike Gold Rush. I enjoyed reading about it from a different perspective. I had no idea that so many women joined the rush—nor that a woman discovered the first gold! Though the pictures are somewhat stylized, they give the feel of being there, of what it was like to be in the Yukon at that time. This is a good resource for a study of Northern Canada and the gold rush there.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.


I already passed on the the book's title and author to a friend that teaches grade 6. I very much enjoyed the highlighting of the females and Nero who contributed in this important time in our history and feel itnis important to teach children the contributions woman (and dogs) made for our beautiful country.

Book Review: Gold Rush: The untold story of the First Nations woman who started the Klondike Gold Rush by Flora Delargy

Rating: 5 Stars

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing Gold Rush by Flora Delargy, and wow, what a beautifully illustrated book this is! As someone who loves both history and art, I found this book to be a true gem. It dives into the untold story of the courageous women who played a pivotal role during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1887—a topic I didn’t know much about until I opened these pages.

Delargy, a talented Northern Irish artist, captures the essence of the Yukon Valley with her stunning illustrations. The book tells the story of Shaaw Tláa (Kate Cormack), a First Nations woman who discovered gold, which ultimately led to the arrival of around 100,000 gold diggers in the region. The beautifully rendered artwork showcases not just the breathtaking mountains and rickety railway tracks but also the resilience and hardships faced by First Nations people whose lives were forever changed by the Gold Rush.

From the moment I started reading, I was fascinated. The detailed illustrations bring history to life, making it incredibly engaging for younger children. I can easily imagine this book being read aloud to kids; they'd be glued to the pages, captivated by the vibrant images and rich storytelling. Delargy has an incredible knack for incorporating minute details that make learning about this period feel immersive—like train tickets, maps, and even step-by-step guides on how to pan for gold!

That said, if I had to nitpick one thing that niggled at me, it would be the text size. I found it a bit small, which made it somewhat challenging to read comfortably, especially when sharing it with others. However, that small detail hardly detracted from my overall enjoyment of this exquisite book.

In conclusion, Gold Rush isn't just an illustrated book; it's a powerful narrative that sheds light on an often-overlooked aspect of history. Flora Delargy's work is a delightful blend of art and storytelling that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone—especially families eager to share rich historical tales with their children. Don’t miss out on this stunning tribute to the brave women of the Klondike Gold Rush!

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

I enjoyed reading this story however, it was too deep for little kids. My nephew left the story and did not want to read it with me, I read it myself. As an individual who would love to travel North and visit the gold rush sites in Yukon this book continued to fuel my desire to visit.

I really enjoyed this!! This book is on a very interesting topic - the gold rush, but telling beyond the surface of what most people know. The art style is beautiful, and the story is informative. I loved how it showed the possible origins, as well as the stories of many who pursued it. The highlight of female voices about a time that lack respect for women is appreciated. However, the text could be bigger, as it was difficult to read.

This book is absolutely perfect! It is informative, well written and oh so beautifully illustrated!
I love how there is a content page that also includes the characters and then at the end you find a glossary with the most important terminology. That's super helpful for students.
I especially love how the book connects pieces of information that I would usually teach separately (because of the syllabus and material provided) and presents it through such a wonderfully crafted story. There are so many different types of text (mostly fictional/informational stories, but also lists and labeled drawings) that this will appeal to many different students.
My students are non-native speakers, so I would probably read this with an older group than suggested, but it fits perfectly for talking about indigenous culture which is on the syllabus when they are roughly 13/14 years old.

Thank you so much to Quarto Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

This book shares the stories of the women that were a huge part of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1887. Something that I didn’t know much about until reading this and I was so fascinated from the start, I loved learning so much about this event in time and learning about the women who made an impact on it.

These women all broke the mould that were put on them from the era, they all used so much resilience and knowledge and strength to survive. From being entrepreneurs and building businesses, helping those in need in the area, to mining the gold themselves, to discovering the gold. These women all played such a huge part in it and it was so fascinating to learn all about it.

Though it was sad as this huge event in time really effected the land it was all on, with constant mining and digging of the land. It also effected the natives that were happily living on their land, to then having discovered this gold and suddenly stampeders invaded turning everything the natives lived on into a big city and pushing them out, killing them with their illnesses and destroying land they’d cared for so much. It was sad what had happened to these wonderful tribes living how they’d always lived.

The story was really fascinating getting to learn so much about this piece of history, of the rush everyone had to make millions with the gold that could be found. The ways that they got the gold out was also fascinating, the long treks they had to take to get there, it was very fascinating. This book is so detailed sharing all about the stampeders, the trek to get there, the living conditions and of the women, their lives and their impact on the whole event. I thoroughly enjoyed learning so much new information.

Certainly an overlooked and untold story, and deserves to be told. Delargy’s art captures the challenges.
I did not pick this up as a book to share with my child yet, but I certainly will.
The focus on the women was another highlight.
A niche topic, but Delargy’s storytelling makes it accessible and engaging.

I enjoyed reading about the courageous women who contributed to the Klondike Gold Rush.

The Northern Irish author both wrote and illustrated her book - the illustrations are spectacular. I was very disappointed at how small the font was in this children’s book. It made it extremely difficult to read and I’m not elderly! I put on my husband’s reading glasses and continued to struggle. I can imagine how problematic it would be for children to read. To give you a reference, I was reading this book on my iPad with an 8 X 11-inch screen.

The main focus for me was learning about Kate Carmack (Shaaw Tlaa) and her gold discovery in Bonanza Creek, Yukon Territory which started the Klondike Gold Rush. A sad account of discrimination and injustice was partially rectified (128 years later) in 2019 when Kate’s role in finding gold was recognized and she was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame - the first Indigenous woman to be inducted. I enjoyed reading about her impact, the beauty of the North, all the ways she embodied the Frontier Spirit and how she helped preserve her Tagish and Tlingit culture for future generations.

I appreciated the author’s spotlight on prospector Nellie Cashman and the mining process, Belinda Mulrooney and her dog Nero (Boomtown entrepreneurs), and Martha Black, a stateswoman who hiked the Chilkoot trail in a skirt in the snow!

The beautiful maps of the journey to the goldfields and the pictorial supply lists needed added to the impact of the arduous adventure. The author has also included a glossary and listed sources.

This one is worth picking up to discover why August 16, 1896 was so important in Canadian history!

I was gifted this copy by Quarto Publishing Group, Wide Eyed Editions and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This is a beautifully-illustrated non-fiction book for children about the history of the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada. It focuses on the half-forgotten role of women in this history, including gold prospectors Martha Black and Nellie Cashman, entrepreneur Belinda Mulrooney, and Shaaw Tláa (also known as Kate Carmack), a First Nations woman who was in the party that discovered gold at Rabbit (Bonanza) Creek and by some accounts was the first to do so. The book's subtitle ("The untold story of the First Nations woman who started the Klondike Gold Rush") suggests it's focused solely on Shaaw Tláa, but that turned out not to be the case. The illustrations are charming and inventive - for example, the one showing the spread of 'gold fever' is a delight, and the one of the travellers arriving at remote Dawson City really captures the imagination. Flora Delargy's artistic talent is impressive.

On Amazon, the readership age range for the book is given as 7-11 years. The illustrations are stunning, and would engage younger children with the support of an adult to explain the history, but I felt they might find it tricky to access the text independently. Some of the vocabulary and concepts were quite sophisticated, e.g. "As the land was colonized... the newcomers spread their beliefs and practices". The text is perhaps more appropriate for Upper KS2/KS3 (9-13 years). The book has a short glossary, but this could perhaps be expanded - for example terms such as "artefact", "sanitation", "spirituality" and "indigenous people" are used in the text but aren't in the glossary. It might also help children navigate the text if the words in the glossary were put in bold, so it's clear they can be looked up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.