Melanie Benjamin is the New York Times bestselling author of THE AVIATOR'S WIFE, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MRS. TOM THUMB, and ALICE I HAVE BEEN. Her latest novel THE CHILDREN'S BLIZZARD is a story of courage on the prairie, inspired by the devastating storm that struck the Great Plains in 1888, threatening the lives of hundreds of immigrant homesteaders, especially schoolchildren. This is a story of courage, of children forced to grow up too soon, tied to the land because of their parents’ choices.