The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin

Genre - Historical Fiction

Format - Ebook

Rating 5 out of 5 stars

Content Warning - Talk about severe frostbite and amputation and the aftermath of healing from those injuries 


Where do I even begin with this book. It was amazing! This book is about what they called the Children’s Blizzard that really happened in January of 1888 in Nebraska and the Dakota’s. I think that is what drew me to this book is that it was a true thing that happened in Nebraska. I am a native of Nebraska and had never heard of the blizzard before this book.


This book is based on a variety of characters that where caught in the blizzard including two school teachers that are sisters and a young girl. This book spoke to me in ways that other books haven’t before. I think it hit so close to home because of the blizzards we have been having lately here in Nebraska and how different the past few weeks could have been if it was not as settled as well as it is now.


The characters really show what it was like to live in the uncertain times of the late 1800’s when areas were not as civilized as they are now. It is easy to imagine what would happen in the past several weeks if we were still in those days. The author did an excellent job of retelling what it was like just over 120 years ago. So much has changed since then. I have already recommended this book to several people and will continue to do so.


I can’t describe the book in too much detail because it would have spoilers all over the place. Just know that this was a devastating time and hundreds lost their lives. The death toll is not know to this day. Although the characters really come alive with this author’s retelling. It is loosely based on true characters but names have been changed.


Historical Note - For nonfiction readers the author says in the end she primarily used two nonfiction books in her research. I had heard of one also called “The Children’s Blizzard” by David Laskin in 2004 but still can be found in libraries. She also used a book “In All It’s Fury, a History of the Blizzard of January 12th 1888” which was published in 1947. I have not looked this one up to see if it is still available or not yet. This book shares first hand stories of people who witnessed the blizzard.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review of author Christine K. Fields

Genre Children’s Books I read three books by this author and all three were 5 star reads for children! I read Alphabet Stuff With Nuff, Saving Money Makes Cents,  Teamwork Makes Dream Work all by this author.  The Alphabet Stuff With Nuff book is a great way to get pre-K kids excited about learning letters and counting. It is all done in rhyme and had me laughing in parts. I would recommend the adult read through it a couple of times before reading it to their children. There are some wicked twisters in this one. The goal is to get your children to learn their alphabet and simple counting while you read the book. They have to count each time that letter comes and add them up. The answers of the number of letters in each rhyme are thankfully in the back of the book. The other two books I would say are more of kindergarten age book, One teaches about saving money and how fast it goes if you don’t pay attention. Something I have to say I have not learned at my age. This is perfec...
Read more

Windswept by Annabelle McCormack

Windswept Saga Book 1 Narrated by Elizabeth Grace Genre - Intrigue, Mystery, Romance Rating - 5 out of 5 Narration Rating - 5 out of 5 This book had me hooked from the beginning. It was so full of twist, turns, and mysterious circumstances that it just grabbed me in and I hated to stop listening even for bed. This book is sent in 1917 during WWI in Egypt. It has a lot of different characters but they are very easy to follow. It is about a woman thrown into a world of murder and mayhem in the war-ravaged Arabian desert where one wrong turn can get you killed. She has no clue who to trust and people keep showing up telling her that she can trust them but she has no idea which one is telling the truth. I have to give a shout-out to the narrator for keeping the book flowing and also her wide range of voices for each character. I think that is why while listening to this book I could keep each person separate.  I would highly recommend this book in audiobook format or book f...
Read more

A Cowboy Christmas Legend by Linda Broday

Genre - Christmas Fiction Rating - 5 out of 5 stars I picked out this book because of my ongoing obsession with cowboys. Plus I wanted to get into the Christmas spirit early this year. This book definitely didn’t disappoint.  This book is about a Texas Ranger running from grief and a women coming to grips with her own past. As they work together they end up bonding together to help rescue and take care of a Mother and her two children plus helping with a case for the Texas Rangers. The plot is a very stereotypical romance but it did not disappoint. With all the happy endings that we all look for at Christmas time. So if you are looking for a nice easy Christmas book to read I would definitely recommend this steamy Christmas read.
Read more