{"product_id":"the-childrens-blizzard-9780593499474","title":"The Children's Blizzard","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Aviator's Wife\u003c\/i\u003e comes a story of courage on the prairie, inspired by the devastating storm that struck the Great Plains in 1888, threatening the lives of hundreds of immigrant homesteaders, especially schoolchildren.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A nail-biter . . . poignant, powerful, perfect.\" --Kate Quinn, author of \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Alice Network\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe morning of January 12, 1888, was unusually mild, following a punishing cold spell. It was warm enough for the homesteaders of the Dakota Territory to venture out again, and for their children to return to school without their heavy coats--leaving them unprepared when disaster struck. At the hour when most prairie schools were letting out for the day, a terrifying, fast-moving blizzard blew in without warning. Schoolteachers as young as sixteen were suddenly faced with life and death decisions: Keep the children inside, to risk freezing to death when fuel ran out, or send them home, praying they wouldn't get lost in the storm? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBased on actual oral histories of survivors, this gripping novel follows the stories of Raina and Gerda Olsen, two sisters, both schoolteachers--one becomes a hero of the storm and the other finds herself ostracized in the aftermath. It's also the story of Anette Pedersen, a servant girl whose miraculous survival serves as a turning point in her life and touches the heart of Gavin Woodson, a newspaperman seeking redemption. It was Woodson and others like him who wrote the embellished news stories that lured northern European immigrants across the sea to settle a pitiless land. Boosters needed them to settle territories into states, and they didn't care what lies they told these families to get them there--or whose land it originally was. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt its heart, this is a story of courage, of children forced to grow up too soon, tied to the land because of their parents' choices. It is a story of love taking root in the hard prairie ground, and of families being torn asunder by a ferocious storm that is little remembered today--because so many of its victims were immigrants to this country.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMelanie Benjamin\u003c\/b\u003e is the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Children's Blizzard\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMistress of the Ritz, The Girls in the Picture, The Swans of Fifth Avenue, The Aviator's Wife, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAlice I Have Been\u003c\/i\u003e. Benjamin lives in Chicago, Illinois, where she is at work on her next historical novel.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bantam","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50718264197394,"sku":"9780593499474","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_51171711-4ee6-498e-80bb-eddc3e213f84.jpg?v=1773149640","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-childrens-blizzard-9780593499474","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}