Stories with young protagonists often differ from those with adult heroes in that the action frequently involves life-changing events and decisions that mark the transition from childhood to maturity. These can include bold, independent actions such as leaving the family home on an extended voyage, facing down an adversary, discovering new strengths, finding romance, or establishing one’s own moral compass. In these “coming of age” stories, the true action resides not in the various events and climaxes of the plot, but in their lasting effect on the protagonist, who usually emerges stronger, wiser, and more morally sound. Jack Flagg, the 12-year-old protagonist of By the Great Horn Spoon!, takes his first step toward independence and adulthood when he learns of his aunt’s financial troubles and decides to undertake a dangerous voyage to the other side of the country to pan for gold in the untamed West. The perilous life he embraces could not be more different from the coddled one he left behind, where he lived with his aunt in a mansion in Boston.

Throughout the rigors of Jack’s sea voyage to California, which include hiding in a potato barrel in a freezing cargo hold, stoking a furnace in blazing heat, and braving the high winds and treacherous currents of the Strait of Magellan, his resolve never falters, even when his butler

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