Firestorm

by Jan Neubert Schultz

Maggie hates moving from beautiful Superior, Wisconsin, to dusty Hinckley, Minnesota, in 1894, until she almost loses her family to a forest fire that sweeps through the town.

Genres: Historical Fiction

203 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Jan Neubert Schultz grew up in Mankato, MN, and graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has taught second and third grades, and more recently, Early Childhood. She now lives with her husband along the bluffs of the Minnesota River Valley on a farm that was homesteaded by the Schultz family in 1869. A fifth-generation Minnesotan, Ms. Schultz has been fascinated since childhood by the stories that have been handed down in her family and by the people and events that have shaped Minnesota's history.

Reviews

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

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. 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.

Adjusting 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. Maggie’s whole world turned upside down on September 1, 1894 – the day of the great Hinckley fire. Maggie and Gramma race to escape town on her dad’s train, uncertain of where her brothers are and if they are safe. After a harrowing ride to Duluth Maggie and her father decide they must return to Hinckley in search of her brothers.

Maggie and her family are fictional characters but the events surrounding the great Hinckley Fire are harrowing and true. 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.
This book is particularly applicable to the students I work with as we live in Hinckley, MN. 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.

[Anna Zbacnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of my great-grandmother's immediate family died in the Hinkley Fire. I grew up hearing the story of her survival. This book touched me on a very personal level. So interesting to learn more of the events.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting because it's about the Hinckley fire--a local historical event with which I was unfamiliar.