It's 1864, and 12-year-old Jem Coulter knows that Goldtown, California, has seen the last of the gold rush. But the flecks of gold he, his sister Ellie, and an old prospector Strike find in their played-out claim on Cripple Creek spur their hopes of striking it rich. When Pa becomes sheriff of the lawless gold camp, Goldtown, the kids fear his badge will become a target for outlaws. Then the creek dries up, and Strike disappears.

Welcome to Centerburg! Where you can win a hundred dollars by eating all the doughnuts you want; where houses are built in a day; and where a boy named Homer Price can foil four slick bandits using nothing but his wits and pet skunk. The comic genius of Robert McCloskey and his wry look at small-town America has kept readers and listeners in stitches for generations!

Andi Carter has gold fever! Someone near town has struck it rich. Now Andi can't stop wondering if there might be some of the glittery metal in the creeks on the Circle C ranch. Her brothers agree that she might find something that sparkles. But they laugh whenever they talk about it. Andi is determined - when she finds gold, she'll be the one laughing!

Andi Carter has just turned nine. She and her palomino, Taffy, are old enough to be a real horse-and-rider pair at last! With a beautiful new saddle, Andi's sure she is ready to learn to trick ride like her friend Riley used to do before he left the ranch. Sadly, big brother Chad knocks down any trick-riding plans, but Andi cheers up when she discovers a new friend at her special spot. Her fun with Sadie is soon threatened, though. They are caught in the middle of a boundary quarrel between the two families. Both Sadie's pa and Chad are stubborn as mules and neither will back down.

No more ponies! Andi lives on a ranch in 1874 California. She wants a horse of her own more than anything. But Mother says Andi has to ride pokey old Coco. Andi is sure she's big enough for a horse - even if she's not so good at remembering to care for Coco. Can Andi show her family she's ready for her own horse? Or will she always be stuck riding a worn-out, hand-me-down pony?