Addie Slaughter

WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT? Indian attacks, outlaws, rattlesnakes, smallpox and blizzards are a few of the true-to-life dangers experienced by Addie Slaughter, daughter of the famous John Horton Slaughter, a Texas Ranger, famed Cochise County Sheriff and an early settler of the San Bernardino Valley in the late 1800s. In first-person narrative, author Susan Krueger, Ed.D., expertly speaks for Addie, who tells her adventurous, sometimes heartbreaking, story of traveling across the Wild West from Texas to Arizona to Oregon, and then eventually settling on the Slaughter Ranch near the Arizona-Mexico border. Along the way, Addie's mother dies; her family narrowly escapes a stagecoach robbery; her grandfather is rescued when their adobe ranch buildings collapse in a terrible earthquake; when pursuing a member of the Jack Taylor Gang, her father's earlobe is shot off; and Addie meets the powerful warrior, Geronimo. WHAT MAKES THIS BOOK UNIQUE? Based on actual stories told to Adeline Greene Parks by her mother, Addie Slaughter, and in-depth interviews with Arizona Culture Keeper Dr. Reba Wells Grandrud, the John H. Slaughter Ranch historian, Addie Slaughter: The Girl Who Met Geronimo, succeeds in capturing the interest and imagination of young readers due to its youthful voice, colorful descriptions and exciting recount of actual events. Most of the book's photographs come from Slaughter family albums and the collection of Dr. Grandrud. As author Susan Krueger puts it, History is NOT boring, especially when it's retold by a child who actually lived it! Though entertaining for young readers, Addie Slaughter's historical significance is such that it was selected as an official Arizona Centennial Legacy Project designated by the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission as authorized by the Arizona Legislature. Visit www.azcentennial.gov for more info.