“I have an idea,” says Elder John Leland to the assembled town folk, “If each of you will give one day’s milking from each of your many cows, we can put our curds together and create a whopping big cheddar.” Although some people scoff, the farmers bring load after load of milk-from 934 cows-to town and they set about making an enormous cheese. In Cheshire, Massachusetts, the home of mouth-watering cheese, the local residents grumble that President Jefferson is serving cheese from Norton, Connecticut, at the White House. The author and illustrator bring to life an incident right out of history in this droll picture book enhanced by lively, color- washed pen-and-ink drawings. “More about life on the Prairie in the 1880s” adds information. In addition, readers will learn about the hardships of life on the treeless plains. Perhaps Anna and some of the other characters are too good, and one, too prissy, but readers should identify with Anna and admire her spunk. After the dangerous trip, they find a soddy in which to shelter. She devises a plan to lead the children from the destroyed school, into the icy blinding whiteout and deepening snow. A poor student, she's more comfortable herding sheep and working around the homestead than holding a pencil or reading. Called the “Schoolchildren’s Blizzard” because it caused the deaths of many children who were trapped away from home, Hart tells how a group of Nebraska school children were saved thanks to the actions of 11-year-old Anna Vail. history. New York City had its “Great Blizzard” and the high plains were struck by a sudden, life-threatening blizzard in January. In 1888, people suffered one of the worst winters in U.S.

Anna's Blizzard by Alison Hart