Bo at Ballard Creek

Childrens literature



Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill and illustrated by LeUyen Pham Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First edition Ebook edition (June 18, 2013) Pages CM

This book captivates a historical relevant place in Alaskan History. Transforming the modern reader back in time to a place where the Alaska Native People still lived in Sod homes and log cabins and the big hunt for gold was happening. The main characters are BO and her best friend Oscar and her two Fathers Arvid and Jack who raised her from a few weeks old. The fathers fell victim to the love and affection of a baby that was supposed to be put in an orphanage. This enduring tail describes the life as a child growing up in what would be a dyeing mining town. Learning both Alaskan Native language and English you will experience her adventures through her eyes as it seems to be told from a 3rd person perspective. With many daring twists and turns, from finding a lost boy to an encounter with the Bear and many other thrills of a five-year-old out exploring the vast world of Ballard Creek.

Plot living through the eyes of a 5 year old in the last frontier
Characters Bo, Oscar, Arvid, and Jack
Setting is in gold mining town in Alaska during the 1920s
Theme historical adventure
Style is 3rd person narrative through the eyes of a 5 year old
Tone enduring and adventuring
Point of view little girl growing up in a mining town
Illistartions look like they are water color
This was story kept me wanting more of Bos adventures to see what other kinds of things she might experience and explore as she grows. ( )

Bo at Ballard Creek is a sentimental story about a young girl named Bo, her father’s, and their life in a mining camp in Alaska. The story details the life of a miner in Alaska in the 1920s, it’s hardships, but more importantly the community of the village, their connections with each other and their roles in the camp. Bo learns about mining, cooking, sewing, and survival while building relationships with other villagers. The book is straightforward and easy to read and is written in short episodic chapters that leaves the reader feeling like each chapter is a short story, a glimpse of an important memory for Bo. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think it would be an excellent steppingstone into Alaskan history, culture and people for young readers.
Alaska connections: Village life, Alaskan history and the goldrush, the science and history of flight and it’s impact on Alaskan life, cultural values about family.
Activity: Learn about the goldrush, how it changed Alaska, and the process of mining gold. Discuss the importance of family and community with an emphasis on the meaning of family, how families can be different, and all families are valid. Learn about and practice some of the ways of life in the mining days such as baking, sewing and survival skills. Take the students outdoors to try their hand at mining. ( )

I'm a sucker for frontier stories, and I like it even better when they really teach me something about a time or a place. These books are so upbeat and curiously cheerful that I just adored them. I love the pragmatic responses of the papas to Bo's upbringing -- the rules are so very firm, but never applied with anger. I love the partnership tradition, which strikes me as a uniquely gold-rush sort of thing, where there were so many men living out on their own over such a long time -- handy, too, that it leaves an ambiguous role modeling for today's same sex partnerships. Mostly, I just love the storytelling, the history, the quirky and fascinating characters. ( )

Bo is a little girl living at a gold mine in 1920s Alaska. This book is just a series of slice-of-life bits in life at the mine. It is sweet and quaint and so very interesting. Bo is a darling little girl and seeing mine life from her point of view is fresh. ( )

Fun, lighthearted story. There are hard things in it, but they are talked about from a child's point of view. Heartwarming, shows love between native and white people.

Grades 3-5 ( )

At the end of the Alaskan Goldrush, Bo a young orphaned girl and her two fathers scrape together a living with chance adventures in rural Alaska. Portrayed from a third person point of view in a conversational narrative, Bo is raised by the community on the Koyukuk River. With a light-hearted tone this story delves into the diversity of Alaskan Communities.

Related Activity: Discussion; How does the authors use of conversational text and spoken form of writing define the tone of the book? ( )

Bo is a young girl who was deserted by her prostitute mother and taken in by two men from very different places (Louisiana and Sweden) and is raised in a mining town circa 1929. It takes place in the bush of Alaska where the author stays true to the era. We take witness to the events that occur in Bo’s life and activities she partakes in. Very similar to Little House in the Big Woods. ( )

Bo at Ballad Creek is an episodic story about a young girl who grows up in a mining camp in what seems the interior part of the western coast of Alaska during the early to middle 1900s. Bo is born of a prostitute and is quickly handed off to a large gentleman who works at mining operations. Him and another man become her two surrogate fathers and they experience village life though the telling of many stories. The stories run throughout a year and have a wide variety of characters introduced: a variety of Native community members, Bo’s fellow children, a slew of workers and the rest of the townsfolk. Exciting events such as an airplane, the mail, a severe sickness and eventually a new child being added to the family of Jack, Arvid and Bo at the conclusion of the story. The story is playfully told and simple to read with a warm, storytelling mood. Alaska Bush/Frontier era lifestyle creates the backdrop for a story of a girl who grows up in an unorthodox home, and is raised by the village. The illustrations are simply down and cartoonish, and help illuminate a simple part of the story every few pages.

This is a heart-warming book, even though it ends sadly as the Ballard Creek community disperses after the closure of the mine. I wish Hill had been more explicit about the Native characters who were lumped together as Eskimo.

I seem to be reading a lot of historical fiction! But this book could be used in conjunction with a unit on the Gold Rush.

As a baby, Bo, was abandoned by her "good time girl" mother in a mining camp and was adopted by two unlikely papas- one a camp cook and the other the camp blacksmith. The book recounts her life in Ballard Creek, her loving family, and her adventures living in a rural outpost and Eskimo village during the Alaska gold rush in the 1920's.

Curriculum connections: Social Studies- learn about the gold rush- mining camps, the jobs at these camps, and the people they attracted, and the impact on the state. Eskimo village life and culture is also discussed in the book. The class could explore the foods mentioned and how they are prepared, the dress described and how the villagers got their materials (trapped and hunted) and why they used certain materials to keep them warm. Learn about the native language and words used in the books, as well as the native tattoos mentioned. ( )

A delightful book about little Bo, her two adoptive dads, and their friends of Eskimos and miners in the waning days of the Alaskan gold rush. The details of mining life in a small remote town and daily Eskimo culture enrich these stories that are perfect for a family or classroom read-aloud. Everyone is neighborly and pitches in, and Bo and all the kids are raised by a multicultural village. I love LeUyen Pham's illustration work and her illustrations here are no exception, adding charm, personality and affection. ( )

- Fiction, Children’s, Chapter Book
Hill, Kirkpatrick. Bo at Ballard Creek. Illus. by LeUyen Plam. NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2013. 279 pp. Primary.
In 1920s Alaska, Bo is headed to an orphanage when two gold miners (Arvid and Jack) take her in, along with the rest of the nearby Eskimo village. She eagerly learns Eskimo in addition to English, helps to cook, and ride along with Big Annie and her dog team. Joyous illustrations and exciting dialogue display Bo as HAPPILY LIVING IN RURAL ALASKA with a caring community.
Alaska Content: Living in Gold Rush Alaska era. With Hill’s insight and background knowledge of living in the Bush, Bo’s perspectives and story are not too far reaching and easily enjoyable as culturally sound for fiction.
Activity: What kind of role would you like to fill in a small town in 1920s (gold rush) Alaska? What would your role entail? A tough gold miner? Sled team driver? How do all of these roles help to form a community at places like Ballard Creek?

Fiction: Chapter Book
Hill, Kirkpatrick Bo of Ballard Creek. MacMillan, 2013. 288p. Intermediate.
This is a warm, delightful story of a little girl named Bo growing up in northern Alaska in the 1920”s, right after the Gold Rush. Two big-hearted ex-miners, Jack and Arvid, raise Bo with the help of the whole village. Bo has many adventures and learns about life, families, and love in this lyrical, quick-paced narrative tale.
AK: Ask children if they have heard of the Gold Rush. What do they know about it? Have they been to an old Gold Rush town? ( )

Personally, I thought the book was enjoyable but without a distinct plot or overarching issue. It seemed as though the book was one large introduction to a story that never unfolded.
The book could be used in the classroom in the context of rural communities, diversity, family structure, or 1920s history. ( )

The book was about a young girl named Bo who was born in Alaska when it was the big Klondike gold rush. When the gold rush was over Bo's mother left Alaska and abandoned Bo lucky two men took care of Bo. The book goes through the life of Bo growing up in Alaska with two dads and growing up around all miners. Bo usually helped her dad Jack in the kitchen to prepare food for all the miners in the town. This book takes us through the life of Bo in Alaska and how her family grew to one very important new character.

Klondike, gold rush, Alaska, orphan

Great details on gold mining in Alaska. Could possibly be a series as Bo and her fathers have to leave Ballard Creek in the end. ( )

Like "Little House in the Big Woods" only in Alaska. ( )

This is extremely endearing, and one of the best middle readers I've picked up in a while.

Bo is a little girl who lives in a small mining town in Alaska in the 1920s. The book is essentially a series of winsome anecdotes about various things that little kids get up to in a small mining town in Alaska ... and it's just so nicely written.

It's been compared a lot to the Little House books, and I think that's fairly understandable in a few ways. The author, a native Alaskan, has said that some of the episodes are based on family stories. There are a lot of "this is how things worked in Ye Olden Days" explanations of what's going on, handled in a good way - they're straightforward, a kid can understand them, and they support the story. In terms of reading level, it feels right about par with Little House in the Big Woods/Little House on the Prairie, so it would work well as a read aloud for kids starting about age 4, and realistic for slightly older kids who are reading on their own. Unlike the Little House books, the Eskimo members of the community get a lot of airtime, and come across as individual people as opposed to a vague group of Eskimos. ( )

Hill has written her most delightful children's book about Alaska. Bo has been "adopted" by two very unlikely parents. Her Papa Jack is a black cook at an Alaskan mine. Her Papa Arvid is a Swedish miner. Bo unconventional family includes not only her papas, but the other miners and the Eskimo village of Ballard Creek. Fans of The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder will see a bit of Laura in Bo. Best of all readers will see that families can be unconventional but if there is love, there is a family. ( )