In first-person narrative, author Susan L. Krueger, Ed.D., expertly speaks for young Addie, who bravely travels from Texas to the Arizona-Mexico border, settling on the late-1800s Slaughter Ranch. Along the way, her mother dies; she narrowly escapes a stagecoach robbery and murder; an earthquake destroys the ranch; her father's earlobe is shot off; and she meets Geronimo.

Book Details

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-58985-197-9

Trim Size: 6 in. x 9 in. / 84 pages / black and white interior

The eBook is available to purchase from Amazon.

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Awards

• 2012 ONEBOOKAZ for Kids Finalist

• Arizona Centennial Legacy Project

• New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards, Winner, Biography-AZ, 2012

• USA Best Book Award, Finalist, Children's Non-Fiction, 2011

• USA Best Book Award, Finalist, Young Adult: Educational, 2011

Reviews

“There are a limited number of good books on Arizona that are written through the eyes of someone their own age … Ms. Krueger’s long years of experience as a reading specialist enables her to write at a proper reading level while Dr. Grandrud’s expertise assures historical accuracy. The two combined to create a wonderful book that will certainly enhance the learning and appreciation of Arizona’s rich history. I highly recommend this book.”

—Marshall Trimble, Official Arizona State Historian

“I’m pleased to recommend Addie Slaughter: The Girl Who Met Geronimo. As a retired educator and former Director of Education for the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe, I recognize the value of this collaborative project for the children of Arizona. This "chapter" book, as called by students and teachers, is based on the exemplary research of Dr. Reba Wells Grandrud. The oral history of Addie Slaughter is told by Susan Krueger through the eyes of a child to children throughout Arizona now and in future generations. Children will become acquainted with Addie and learn of her real-life adventures as the daughter of John and Viola Slaughter living in Tombstone and on the Slaughter Ranch. Addie Slaughter: The Girl Who Met Geronimo is an excellent opportunity for children to become inspired to tell and write their own life stories. Perhaps some of those experiences will be published for Arizona's Bicentennial.”

—Gwen Robinson Retired educator and former Director of Education for the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe, AZ

The story begins with Addie and her family going from Texas to Arizona and on to Oregon. Along the way her mother passes away from Smallpox, they escape a stagecoach robbery, and face many other deterents before the journey ends. Making it harder for young Addie is the fact that her father, John Slaughter, is not with the family when her mother dies as he is running a cattle drive. When he returns, John finds that his wife is gone and he is left with two children to raise. He remarries and the children love their new mother. She is a city girl however, and is not used to the spacious Arizona desert towns. However, John tells the children that their new mother will get tougher in time and fortunately, she did.

Addie meets Geronimo, Chief and medicine man of the Chiricahua Apaches, at her father's ranch. Apparently, he was a frequent guest at the ranch and had given her grandmother a hand-carved wooden spoon (there is a photograph of the spoon included in the book). Many of the local ranches lost live stock to Apache raiders but Addie's father didn't lose as many. It was said that the Indians respected him and did not want to take his cattle.

Eventually, Geronimo was brought from Mexico to Arizona to be sent on to a reservation in Florida. Upon hearing this Addie traveled to see him. Geronimo saw Addie in the crowd and recognized her. He gave her a bead necklace and bowed to her. Addie knew, even though he was a warrior, he would not hurt her. He certainly did not look like the killer/warrior that everyone had painted him to be.

The author has written this tale in the first person and speaks for Addie Slaughter, as if she were in the room with you. Addie was the daughter of John Horton Slaughter, who was a Texas Ranger and then, the Sheriff of Cochise County in Arizona. This story of Addie's life is based on stories told to Adeline Greene Parks, daughter of Addie Slaughter.

While promoted as "the girl who met Geronimo" this book was really about Addie and her family as tales of Geronimo were a bit sparse. Overall, however, it was an enjoyable, and educational, tale of a family and their exploits in the late 1800s. This book will definitely teach children that history is not boring. The author succeeds in making the story of Addie very interesting and children will be fascinated by the adventures that Addie and her family faced in the west during the age of Geronimo.

Quill says: This book is a very good teaching tool for the children of Arizona as well as the rest of the country and is part of The Arizona Centennial Project.

—Feathered Quill Book Reviews

If you’ve ever wanted to know what it was really like to live in the Old West, read this book about Addie Slaughter. She was born in the early 1880’s in Texas and lived in many places in the western part of the country before settling around Tombstone, Arizona. The family moved from Texas to Arizona to Oregon and back to Arizona. Written in first person, the text uses a lot of sensory detail to convey the story. For example, Addie describes the cold and wet snow while riding in a wagon. She talks about the smell of the buffalo robe they used to keep out that cold. She also describes the rubble created by the adobe bricks in an earthquake. Addie lost her mother to smallpox when she was only five. Her stepmother, Viola Slaughter, was known to her as “Mama.” Viola is an especially lively character, changing from a timid young woman to an accomplished nurse to all sorts of ailments. Addie’s father was the Tombstone sheriff known for taming Cochise County.  Addie was honored to receive a necklace from Geronimo shortly after his capture.

This book is recommended for fourth grade reading and is appropriate as a read aloud for younger students. Reading activities are discussed extensively in the curriculum guide provided with the book and written by a reading specialist. She discusses the aids to comprehension available. The book’s author did a tremendous amount of research, consulting historians and letters written by the characters. Supported as part of the Arizona Centennial Legacy Project of the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission, this is a great addition to children’s literature.

—4thgradereading

About the Creative Team

Susan L. Krueger, Ed.D. — Author

A teacher of children and adults for thirty-two years, Susan L. Krueger holds a doctorate degree from Northern Arizona University. Her first book, Addie Slaughter: The Girl Who Met Geronimo, was recognized as an Arizona Centennial Project and received numerous other awards. A fantasy, Horrifa's Magic Makeover, was published the following year. She has served as a master docent at the Phoenix Art Museum since retirement in 2000. Other hobbies include gardening, quilting, traveling and genealogy.

Reba Wells Grandrud, Ph.D. — Historian

Reba Wells Grandrud, Ph.D. is a local author and historian, who came to Phoenix from Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1982. For more than 30 years, she has been involved in historical research, writing, and publishing. Known as a “Road Scholar,” Grandrud has a unique ability to bring Arizona history to life and has worked with multiple organizations, including the Partnership for National Trails System, Old Spanish Trail Association, Arizona History Convention, Westerners Corrals, Pioneer Cemetery Association, and the Sunnyslope Historical Society. Grandrud served as Historian and provided interviews and original family photos for the award-winning Arizona Centennial Legacy Project, Addie Slaughter: The Girl Who Met Geronimo.