Genre: Children's Book: middle grades
Author: Dorothy Kupcha Leland
Publisher: Tomato EnterprisesISBN 0-9617357-4-0
ISBN: 0-9617357-9-1

The following review was contributed by: Molly Martin & CLICK TO VIEW  Molly Martin's Reviews

The narrative opens on a fog shrouded day in San Francisco. It is March 31,
1853 and the steam ship Independence has wrecked off the Lower California
coast. Ready Gates and other newsboys hurry to tell the city of the loss.
The Gates family came to San Francisco hoping for a better life. To date the
fortune they hoped to find remains elusive. Ready's mother toils making
cushions for area churches while his father works as a brick mason. Mr Gates
and Ready have a plan up their sleeves to change their lives for the better.
Before Ready can set out to pan for gold with his father Mr Gates is
grievously injured and Ready must give up all hope for leaving the life he
desperately wants to put behind him. Ready continues to hawk the news for
'The Alta California,' before changing jobs and working for Pat Hull at 'The
Whig.' Ready seems to be everywhere the action is; he meets actress Lola
Montez, sneaks onto a riverboat in an effort to evade paying a fare, runs
into old friends and makes new ones, helps track down a missing gold miner
and is in the middle of everything going on. One fateful day Ready begins a
journey he never expected to make.

The discovery of gold served to prompt San Francisco into becoming a
thriving city overflowing with activity and people in addition to the city
serving as an important hub with numerous ties to the rest of the nation.
Set five years after the discovery of gold The Balloon Boy of San Francisco
depicts a vivid peek into every day life in this busy, exhilarative city on
the bay. Writer Leland has done her research well to provide details
necessary to bring to life the colorful gold rush era in this appealing
narrative telling of red haired Ready, Joseph, Gates and the eye-popping,
unexpected journey he made as is recorded in early California and other of
the nation's newspapers.

The Balloon Boy of San Francisco begins with fourteen year old Ready Gates
rushing to pick up the latest newspaper issue to hawk on San Francisco
streets. The tale ends with the reader learning that Ready Gates was an
actual person and his most amazing flight is listed in a book published by
the Smithsonian Institute. Without sounding 'teacherage', talented writer
Leland employs an easy reading, writing style to furnish enough minutiae
essential for providing an excellent history lesson for youngsters in the
middle grades. From the outset reader interest is held tight with flowing
details of many colorful characters, burning buildings, sinking ships, gold
fever and kidnappings. Lola Montez, street preaching, daguerreian artists,
rivalry from other newsboys who are as desperate as Ready to earn money for
their families and a most amazing balloon flight all serve to further
understanding for some of the picturesque past of one of the most
fascinating cities in our country.

Enterprise, harsh reality of daily life and adventure abound on the pages of
this fast paced tale peopled with appealing characters, zesty dialog, and
richly drawn backdrops against which the history of early California comes
to life. As a native Californian who was myself born in the bay area, I
particularly enjoyed this fascinating, well-written tale. The Balloon Boy of
San Francisco is an excellent choice for pleasure reading, classroom
'California' unit work, the homeschool curriculum as well as home and school
libraries.

Enjoyed the read, happy to recommend.