Kay Bowes, Concord Pike Library, Wilmington, DEĬopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The characters are mostly stereotypical-the rough-and-ready brothers, the grandmother with a heart of gold, the overworked father, and the girl who is changed-and flat, lending little literary value to the story. by Jan Neubert Schultz First published in 2001 2 editions 1 previewable Borrow Listen.

The actual novel itself, however, is less successful. Author of Battle cry, Horse sense, Firestorm, Horse sense. The retelling of the real destruction wreaked by that powerful fire and how amazing numbers of people survived is a powerful piece of history. The descriptions of the rapidly spreading fireballs are horrifyingly presented as Maggie and her grandmother help with the injured and the dead.

Separated from her brothers and not knowing if they are alive, she quickly realizes the importance of her family. The day the fire destroys the town and a terrifying number of its inhabitants, everything changes for her. She hates the dry, dusty beginnings of the town she has just moved to with her grandmother, father, and two brothers she misses her friends sorely and makes no attempt to become a part of the new life. Public Libraries K-12 Schools Business & Law Higher Education. Showing : Public Libraries K-12 Schools Library Name Distance. It is a literature resource for 6th grade students who study Minnesota History (according to state standards) yet a student would not have to be from Hinckley or Minnesota to enjoy, learn from, and appreciate this novel.Grades 3-6-The tragic story of the 1894 Hinckley, MN, fire, which killed more than 400 people in four hours, is recounted by 13-year-old Maggie. Search by city, ZIP code, or library name Search Learn more about precise location detection. This book is particularly applicable to the students I work with as we live in Hinckley, MN. Written for 4th grade and up, Schultz, does a fantastic job of being truthful about the terrible things that happened on a level that elementary students can understand, yet not become terrified of. Maggie and her family are fictional characters but the events surrounding the great Hinckley Fire are harrowing and true. After a harrowing ride to Duluth Maggie and her father decide they must return to Hinckley in search of her brothers.

Maggie and Gramma race to escape town on her dad’s train, uncertain of where her brothers are and if they are safe. Maggie’s whole world turned upside down on Septem– the day of the great Hinckley fire. Three years earlier her mom died yet everything continues to remind Maggie of her she doesn’t want to move, she believes Mama wouldn’t have wanted it either.Īdjusting to life in this little town was difficult, but with her dad and brother working for two different railroad companies it was the only place to live where they could all be together. Thirteen year-old Maggie is not happy to hear that her father has been transferred by his railroad company and her family will be moving from Duluth to Hinckley.

Firestorm by Jan Neubert Schultz