Characters
The main character of the book.
Who is John Hale?
The year the story takes place.
What is 1888?
The season in which the Children's Blizzard strikes.
What is winter?
The material used to build a sod house.
What is sod?
The name of John's family's cow.
Who is Princess?
John's little sister.
Who is Franny?
The territory where John's family settles.
What is Dakota Territory?
The weather event that makes it nearly impossible to see where you're going.
What is a blizzard?
The main occupation of many families living on the prairie.
What is farming?
The name of John's family's ox.
Who is Shadow?
John's teacher at school.
Who is Miss. Ruell?
The city John's family moved from.
What is Chicago?
The place where the children are attending school when the storm hits.
What is the schoolhouse?
The crop-destroying insects that cause trouble for farmers.
What are grasshoppers?
The food Ma prepares using squirrel.
What is squirrel stew?
The name of the dangerous rattlesnake.
What is King Rattler?
The type of home John's family lives in.
What is a sod house (soddy)?
The dangerous weather conditions that make the storm so deadly.
What are extreme cold, strong winds, and blowing snow?
The reason families needed to preserve and store food.
What is surviving the long winter?
The thing John and his friends use to stay warm and sheltered.
What is a haystack?
The three boys who became John's friends.
Who are Rex, Peter, and Sven?
The animal that causes trouble for John and the boys.
What is a rattlesnake?
The reason the storm becomes especially dangerous to children traveling home.
What is the sudden arrival of the blizzard during the school day?
The main reason traveling during a prairie blizzard was so dangerous.
What is the difficulty of seeing landmarks and finding your way?
The important quality John discovers he has throughout his experience.
What is courage?