I Survived the Children's Blizzard, 1888: Chapters 1–9

by Lauren Tarshis
In this sixteenth book of the historical fiction I Survived series, eleven-year-old John Hale is skating outside his schoolhouse in Dakota Territory, when he sees a big, dark cloud moving very fast across the land.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–21
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. stagger
    walk with great difficulty
    The wind screamed in his ears as he staggered through the blinding snow.
  2. numb
    lacking sensation
    His whole body was numb.
  3. gust
    a strong current of air
    And then a screaming gust picked John up and slammed him down. He tried to rise to his feet, but the wind was too strong.
  4. seep
    pass gradually or leak or as if through small openings
    His body’s warmth was seeping out of him, like blood leaking from an open wound.
  5. pioneer
    one the first colonists or settlers in a new territory
    He was a city kid, not a tough pioneer.
  6. taunt
    harass with persistent criticism or carping
    And now the maniac wind was hissing in his ears, taunting him.
    You’re weak!
    You’ll never make it!
    You’re doomed!
  7. prance
    spring forward on the hind legs
    It was hard to see through the grass, which rose up so high it tickled his neck. A unicorn could be prancing by, and John wouldn’t notice.
  8. glare
    look at with a fixed or angry gaze
    He pictured her now, her hair stretched back in a bun, her eyes glaring through her little round glasses.
  9. prairie
    a treeless grassy plain
    All he could see, in any direction, was wide-open prairie. It seemed to stretch out forever, an ocean made of grass.
  10. fed up
    thoroughly disgusted with or annoyed at something
    It wasn’t John’s idea; he’d been happy living in the city. But Ma and Pa were fed up with their dark little apartment, their cursing neighbors, and the noise and stink that rose up from the street.
  11. plot
    a small area of ground covered by specific vegetation
    And the government wanted farmers to come. They were even giving away big plots of land—for free! All you had to do was build a farm and stay for five years. Then the land was yours forever.
  12. rickety
    inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
    Then they bought a rickety wagon and an ox to pull it.
  13. settle
    take up residence and become established
    John’s family settled on a 160-acre piece of land about two miles outside of town.
  14. scrawny
    being very thin
    Franny’s scrawny little arms had sprouted muscles from hauling buckets of water from the well.
  15. stranded
    cut off or left behind
    John didn’t belong here. He felt stranded in the middle of nowhere.
  16. mill
    move about in a confused manner
    The schoolhouse door was still closed. Kids were milling around outside, waiting for the bell.
  17. stammer
    speak haltingly
    “Come where?” he stammered.
  18. soddy
    a house built of grassy turf laid in horizontal layers
    But most of the time the soddy was
 surprisingly cozy. The thick dirt walls helped keep the heat in during the winter. On oven-hot summer days the soddy stayed cool.
  19. queasy
    causing or fraught with or showing anxiety
    The sweet and buttery smell rose up. But John was too queasy to even have a taste.
  20. venom
    toxin secreted by animals
    It was what the venom did to your body—how it poisoned your blood and rotted your flesh and then finally stopped your heart.
  21. fib
    tell a relatively insignificant lie
    “I’m fine,” John fibbed, sitting up straighter and digging his fork into his pie.
  22. remedy
    a medicine or therapy that cures disease or relieves pain
    The closest doctor was twenty miles from here—a two-day journey in their rickety wagon. So Ma had a shelf of home remedies—potions and oils and syrups she bought at the general store.
  23. trample
    tread or stomp heavily or roughly
    The buffalo were gone, too. Every last one. The giant herds trampled crops and got in the way of building the railroad. So soldiers and settlers shot them all.
  24. beefy
    muscular and heavily built
    Sven had a big stick resting on each of his beefy shoulders.
  25. insist
    be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
    “No way,” Peter insisted.
  26. grudge
    a resentment strong enough to justify retaliation
    None of them liked Miss Ruell. But Peter had a grudge because he got in trouble the most.
  27. groove
    a long narrow furrow cut by a natural process or a tool
    There was a long, wide groove in the dirt, like a track left by a fat wagon wheel.
  28. hack
    chop or cut away
    Rex would chop the snake’s head off with his ax. Peter would hack away with his hoe.
  29. jabber
    talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner
    They were quiet for a while, but Peter couldn't keep his jaw shut for long. Rex kept shushing him, but it was no use. Soon enough, they were all jabbering again.
  30. bicker
    argue over petty things
    They bickered about which candy at the general store was the best, and decided it was a tie between licorice and peppermint sticks.
  31. skitter
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    He felt as if hundreds of tiny feet were skittering across his flesh.
  32. acre
    a unit of area used in English-speaking countries
    “In just a couple of days they attacked every farm in Prairie Creek. We lost almost all of ours—twenty acres.”
  33. churning
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence
    He barely had a chance to take a breath as the churning water grabbed hold of him and sent him rushing downstream.
  34. bellow
    shout loudly and without restraint
    They bellowed and hooted. John cheered along with them.
  35. loom
    hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
    John ran faster and faster, peering over his shoulder at the looming cloud.
Created on Tue Oct 24 18:19:49 EDT 2023 (updated Wed Nov 01 12:51:57 EDT 2023)

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