Madame Mustache and the Boys of Bodie — Kristiana Gregory

*** NEW free study guide written by the author: www.kristianagregory.com *** When 12-year-old Danny and six-year-old Judd lose their parents to pneumonia in 1878, they are sent to an orphanage in San Francisco. The headmaster wants to separate the brothers and send them to different families, but because they have only each other they escape. They make their way to the dangerous mining camp of Bodie, California in the High Sierra to be with their Uncle Hank. A tenderhearted croupier named Madame Mustache (true person!) takes them under her wing, along with other orphans roaming the raucous town. When the boys find their Uncle Hank and learn he's involved with a Chinese woman, they realize life with him won't be what they had expected. ** Glossary and photo. Short chapters and high adventure for reluctant readers. Highly recommended by fourth-grade teachers; California history at its finest.