Transcontinental Railroad Resources:
More Historical Fiction

1. Dragons Gate.
   Laurence Yep
   Otter is a 14-year-old Chinese immigrant who joins his father and uncle in the building of the railroad through the Sierra Nevada. May be more appropriate for 11-14 year old readers.


2. The Journal of Sean Sullivan: A Transcontinental Railroad Worker.
   (My Name is America series)
   William Durbin.
   Sean gets a job with his father at the Union Pacific Railroad. In his journal, he tells of working his way up from the lowest position of "water carrier" to "spiker" and shares plenty of railroad lingo and information about the boomtowns that he observes along the way.


3. The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West.
   (My Name is America series)
   Kristiana Gregory.
   In 1868, 14-year-old Libby West and her family leave Denver for Cheyenne. Her father and his young friend Pete are working as "stringers," eyewitness reporters covering the race to complete a transcontinental railroad. In her diary, Libby records her observations and her family's adventures as they follow the Union Pacific builders.


4. Coolies. Yin.
   Chinese immigrant brothers arrive in America thinking they will seek their fortune. Instead they are hired on to help build the railroad across The Golden Mountain. A picture book but on topic.