2026 Fall Read: Wind & Weather
From the whisper of the wind to the fury of a blizzard, weather has shaped life on the High Plains—and the stories we tell about it.
The Children's Blizzard
by David Laskin
On January 12, 1888, what began as an ordinary winter morning across the Great Plains became one of the deadliest weather disasters in American history. A sudden Arctic front swept across the prairie with little warning, trapping children on their way home from one-room schools, isolating families, and forever changing the communities that survived it.
In The Children's Blizzard, David Laskin tells two remarkable stories. One is the deeply personal story of the people who lived through the storm. Drawing on letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, and personal recollections, he reconstructs the experiences of ordinary families whose voices might otherwise have been lost to history. Their stories remind us why preserving personal memories matters—not only for families, but for all who seek to understand our shared past.
The second is the story of a nation still learning how to understand and communicate the weather. The blizzard exposed the limitations of the nation's early weather forecasting and communication systems, reminding us that accurate forecasts, timely warnings, and public trust can save lives. The lessons learned from tragedies like the Children's Blizzard helped shape the weather forecasting and emergency communication systems we rely on today.
Our discussion leader, Matthew Kliewer, is Professor of Humanities and Dual Enrollment Program Liaison at Austin Community College. A scholar of Native American and global Indigenous literature, film, and media, Matthew has devoted much of his academic work to exploring how communities preserve their histories through stories, language, and memory. While earning his doctorate at the University of Georgia, he contributed to the nationally broadcast PBS documentary Searching for Sequoyah, helping tell the story of the legendary Cherokee scholar whose legacy continues to inspire new generations.
That perspective makes Matthew an ideal guide for The Children's Blizzard. Like the documentary, David Laskin's book demonstrates that history is more than dates and events—it lives in the voices of ordinary people. Through diaries, letters, newspaper accounts, and memories, a devastating storm becomes a profoundly human story that still speaks to us today.
As the concluding selection in our Wind & Weather series, The Children's Blizzard reminds us that weather is more than something we experience. Through memory, history, and science, we preserve its stories, learn from its lessons, and better understand the forces that continue to shape life on the Great Plains.
Great books. Good conversations.
