On June 17, 1759, Sir Francis Drake sailed into the enormous harbor that is now known as San Francisco Bay. He could never have foretold how transformed this unknown and beautiful area would become. Nor could he foresee that a great and powerful state would come into being several hundred years later.

California—the Golden State—makes numberless contributions to the happiness and well being of around ten million people, both adults and children. The author's vivid and informal account reads like a romantic story, and such it is.

What's more, Kurt Wiese's splendid illustrations in full color add new meaning and new luster to the myriad attractions that California offers to her residents and visitors alike. To be read by boys and girls aged eight to eleven. 

From the dust jacket