We Were There at the Oklahoma Land Run

The Oklahoma Land Run of 1889 was one of the most audacious moments in American history: thousands of settlers waiting at the border, desperate for a piece of the last great unclaimed territory, and then the mad dash across two million acres in a single day. Jim Kjelgaard brings this pivotal moment to vivid life through young Alec Simpson and his twin sisters, Cindy and Mindy. One sister rides with the family toward their future; the other remains behind, too sick to make the journey. As the countdown begins, hope and tension crackle like electricity across the prairie. This is frontier adventure at its most exhilarating: the thundering hooves, the desperate races for the best parcels of land, the families willing to risk everything for a new beginning. But not everyone playing the game plays fair, and the enigmatic Tom LaMott watches the Simpsons with interests that may be darker than simple landlust. The stakes are as high as they come: a family's entire future decided in a single afternoon. For young readers who crave adventure with real historical teeth, this book delivers the rush of the open range and the weight of history in equal measure.