Customer Reviews

The Ghosts of Luckless Gulch

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Estrella Rivera was born on June 14, 1838 and right away she was running, running here and there so fast that people called her a shooting star that had come to earth and they nicknamed her, "The Running Star". As she grew older she developed a way with animals. She was a natural healer and ranchers from all over brought their sick animals to her. Then the word spread among the animals themselves and they came from all over, even some animals nobody had ever heard of before, like a kickle snifter, a sidehill wowser and a rubberado puppy.

These new and strange animals stayed and became Estrella's pets. Then on August 5, 1848, when Estrella was ten years old she was getting ready to run to San Francisco, eighty-miles away, and back, when she found her pets had vanished. She took off on a run looking for them. She ran to San Francisco, she ran to Sacramento, then she crossed the American River and wound up in Gold County, because you see gold had been discovered in California and the land was full of people from all over the world.

She asked miner after miner if they'd seen her pets and finally a minor told to try Luckless Gulch. But first she had to find out how to get there and once there, well to find out what Estrella finds there, you'll have to read the book, can't give everything away, except the fact that this is an excellent, well illustrated book for children, that I can give away. Okay, I'll tell you this, there are ghosts in Luckless Gulch, and what child doesn't want to snuggle up with mom, dad or a grandparent and hear a ghost story? Especially one as well told as this.

This is an oversized book with pictorial boards and matching dust jacket and pictorial endpapers. The story is more lenghty than I thought it would be and you might have to read it to any child below 1st grade level reading. The illustrations are different than most though and they will enjoy those. When Estrella Rivera is born into the world there is nothing to suggest that she would soon become the blazing hero of the California Gold Rush at age 10. As soon as she was able to stand she began running. She ran faster and faster and soon was leaving a blaze of flame behind her. When she was 10, she also came up with another skill. The animals loved her and any animal that was hurt made it's way to Primo's Rancho. Even the most fearful beast could be tamed by Estrella. First to arrive was a baby Kicle Snifter with a sore throat. Kicle was small as a lamb but stronger than an elephant and could kick boulders into the air as easy as a ballon and make the earth shake. Estrella's mama said the critter had to go after it had kicked all her heavy iron cook pans onto the roof. But no one could get it to leave so the ranch hands finally built it a coral from Whitewood logs. Next came Sidehill Wowser with a broken leg. Wowsers can climb hills but can't seem to stand straight on solid ground. So Estrella built it a hill (after it also refused to go). Then in flew a rubberado (dog) who sounded like a dog but could bounce off roofs. She named it Comet because it was so fast. Mama allowed it to stay only because it's main food was rocks and the family needed rocks out of the wheat fields. Then one day her 3 pets came up missing and she ran all the way to San Francisco looking for them (80 miles). They aren't there so she keeps running north and comes upon the wagon trains heading for the gold mines in hopes of striking it rich. The wagons are being pulled by ants (yes, indeedy in this book 6 or 7 half grown California ants could pull a stagecoach). But the wagon line is stalled so she rushes ahead to find out the problem after she spots her pets footprints in the ground. Someone finally told her about a town called Luckless Gulch where there were a lot of earthquakes and snowstorms (and it's only August). Estrella thought this might be where her pets were taken so off she runs again. She gets to the town to find all the people frozen in position and there are lights in the windows like from a flame but no smoke from the chimneys. She finally finds one old man only partially frozen who tells her ghosts have taken over the town and every creature (human and animal) froze at the sight. Even the moon froze in fright which is why the town has been in darkness for 2 weeks. Estrella is a fearless child though and goes after the ghosts and takes them on in a most unusual way (I don't want to give away the ending.). Soon she has her pets free and rushes home in time for supper! The Gold Rush is back on and the Whitewoods have turned into the Redwoods that we now know. As you can see there is a big fantasy element in story but it is delightful and the kids will love it. 45 pages.

A cute fast paced story about a girl with "pets" who travels to California during the Gold Rush and makes everyone rich! A very cute funny story I will use for a unit on the California Gold Rush and Tall Tales. Good story kids will love.

My son (7) and I love this book. It is very funny and very original. I recommend it.

This an entertaining story from beginning to end. It will spark the imagination of your children and help to encourage them to keep reading many books. I highly recommend this book due to it will build a good foundation of reading and enjoying different books. This is important because it will help their reading comprehension as well as vocabulary.

I received this book through the Amazon Vine Program and although the book IS unique in that it has a Latina Heroine who is swift, smart and brave, the book quite honestly drags in some areas. Usually my boys are begging for me to read another page of a (somewhat) long book but I this book took us a while to get through since they would only stay attentive to about 2 pages at a time for most of the book - especially the midsection of the book. It does pick up towards the end where Estrella finds and rescues her beloved pets and saves the town and the book has an adorable ending of explaining how the earthquakes in California and how the redwoods came to be but all in all, unless your children REALLY love tall tales and you (or they) can read in 'character' I'd say that most of what COULD be appreciated in this book would be lost.

My boys are 4 and 7 neither one REALLY got into the book except towards the first few pages (the excitement of starting a new story) and towards the end. IF you have a child who loves tall tales, especially 'southern' type tall tales, you might have a child who is around 7-10 or so enjoy it. I think a child who is any younger simply just wouldn't 'get it' and if you aren't comfortable reading in 'tall tale character' then I think you'd lose half the appeal of the book.

I give this book a 3 for the originality and uniqueness of the story & characters.

Yes, this book has a strong, Latina heroine. Yes, the illustrations are excellent and the writing is clever. The plot is good enough. But in spite of all that, this book will NOT have universal appeal, because it fits only too well into the tall-tale genre, which (unless you're a fan) can get tiresome and even boring.

The author/illustrator team pack absurdity upon absurdity in this story,until the narrative feels like a long collection of silliness. This convention has a history and for a while American literature was riddled with it, but now it feels a little trite. I am not surprised that some reviewers report that their children did not enjoy this read-aloud--the story absolutely gets bogged down in the crazy details. I agree that as a read-alone title this will probably not be very successful. Children who have the skills to read this (with its dialect, difficult vocabulary, complex sentences, and convoluted story line) may be past the age where they will most appreciate the silliness. Plan on reading this aloud or skip it.

Let me start off by saying I wasn't sure what to expect from "The Ghosts of Luckless Gulch" and after reading it I'm still not 100% sure what to think of it. My wife and I currently have no children but plan on having some soon and have been collecting children's books for a while. Plus she works as a nanny so extra things for the kids she takes care of is always a plus. Anyway back to the book...I thought it was ok but was not as good as I would have hoped. I did like how the redwoods became redwoods and how earthquakes in California are explained as well as how the mountains came about. I can definitely see kids loving the book so I would recommend it.

This book is charming and beautifully illustrated. It initially looks like a book for younger children, but I believe the target audience to be about 8-10, with enough text that I would call this an illustrated novella rather than a picture book. My oldest child, who is nearly 11, gave it a "liked-it-verging-on-loved-it" rating.

The narrative relies a little heavily on telling, rather than showing, the reader each scene as it unfolds, but overall it's a sweet little book that I think most older children will be able to engage in.

This children's book written by Anne Isaacs and illustrated by Dan Santat is a perfect example of two people who are extremely talented coming together in perfect union and creating a truly special work.

Isaacs' story is just as charming as can be. Estrella is a young girl who runs so fast she leaves fire in her wake. One day her pets-- each of whom have an unusual ability as well--are stolen right out from under her nose. Her search for her pets brings about a confrontation with a gang of ghosts who are trying to greedily take advantage of the 1848 gold rush.

This is a story well told. Isaacs uses figurative language originally and effectively and also offered some truly funny scenes. While there are ghosts in this story, there's nothing scary about them and because Estrella has the upper hand nearly the entire time, I don't think even the most timid of children would find this tale creepy. Other than offering an appealing yarn much akin to a tall-tale, Isaacs also executes some solid expertise. She introduces elements in the beginning that play a relevant role later, and there is not one wasted moment in this short book. Not only will your child read a fun, charismatic story, but they'll also witness great writing as well!

And let's talk about Dan Santat! His artwork perfectly compliments Isaacs' craft. His renditions of the speedy Estrella, her incredible pets, and the dastardly ghosts are beautiful to look at and I have no doubt a child could sit and endlessly study each and every picture in the book. I know as a thirty-one-year-old, I stared quite a bit at his work with immense enjoyment. His figures are cartoony yet oddly realistic, and his colors are simply mesmerizing.

Isaacs and Santat's talents blended marvelously together to create a striking work that I think all children will enjoy.

~Scott William Foley, author of The Imagination's Provocation: Volume I