Books in the Goldtown Beginnings series

"Jem needs to buy food for his dog, Gold Nugget. But try as he may, his panning just never leads to gold. When he asks for a job, Mr. Sims, the cafâe owner, sends him out to catch bullfrogs for the menu. Money and frog catching--what a great solution for this active boy! But Nugget and Jem's little sister, Ellie, get in the way and ruin his plans. When he argues with Ellie, she stomps off in a huff, and Jem can get back to work. He heads home with a bucket full of frogs and the knowledge that he'll have plenty of cash for Nugget's food. There's just one big problem--no one knows where Ellie has gone. She's disappeared! Search parties go out, but no matter where they look, there's no sign of her. And Jem knows that it's all his fault for yelling at her. Can he find Ellie before it's too late?"--Amazon.com