Three Golden Rivers

Set in 1850, Three Golden Rivers tells the tale of the four orphaned Bayard children--Jenny, Stephen, Carlotta, and Mady--who must leave their farm and move to the city in order to support themselves. They find a home on the South Side of Pittsburgh in a shanty, known locally as a clinger, on the steep hillside overlooking the rivers and the city. Young readers will gravitate to this remarkable story full of the details of life in a robust nineteenth-century city, in the words and experience of four children left to fend for themselves. Infused with the famous real-life characters of Andrew Carnegie, Charles Dickens, Jenny Lind and Stephen Foster, Three Golden Rivers is a natural segue to further study on these famous personalities, as well as a chance for young readers to learn much about the folklore, commerce, and ecology of the mid-nineteenth century in a booming industrial center. Three Golden Rivers is filled with fascinating bits of history such as the kind of food people ate in the mid-19th century and how it was preserved without refrigeration, the thriving commerce of the riverboats, the glass making industry that made Pittsburgh a leader in glass production, and a glimpse at the early development of the steel mills that would come to define Pittsburgh for the next century and a half. Three Golden Rivers will delight young readers as they get caught up in the lives of these independent and energetic youngsters on their own in the city. It will also provide educators and parents with an endless source of information and ideas for educational projects and approaches for discovering the history of the last century.