Blackout

Have you ever endured a long power outage? Remember how you kept flipping the light switch out of habit, forgetting that it didn’t work? It’s possible that author John Rocco has never experienced the sweat and misery of a Southern summer blackout (with kids); but even so, his boldly illustrated new book offers an upbeat perspective on how power outages can bring families and neighbors together by turning off all the distractions.

A little girl living in an urban apartment building with her family can’t seem to find anyone to play a board game with her – until everyone’s busyness grinds to a halt with the loss of electricity. The sparse, simple-but-almost-lyrical narration and the comic-book style pictures describe the show more family’s adventures in shadow puppets, the “block party in the sky” that they discover when they step out onto their roof, and the goodwill neighborliness happening on the street.

Enjoy this book in the dark, with a flashlight, with all your screens and electronic sounds shut down. You may decide, like the main character, that sometimes it’s a good decision to turn everything off. show less

One hot summer night in the city, all the power goes out. The TV shuts off and a boy wails, "Mommm!" His sister can no longer use the phone, Mom can't work on her computer, and Dad can't finish cooking dinner. What's a family to do? When they go up to the roof to escape the heat, they find the lights--in stars that can be seen for a change--and so many neighbors it's like a block party in the sky! On the street below, people are having just as much fun--talking, rollerblading, and eating ice cream before it melts. The boy and his family enjoy being not so busy for once. They even have time to play a board game together. When the electricity is restored, everything can go back to normal . . . but not everyone likes normal. The boy show more switches off the lights, and out comes the board game again. show less

The book captures the excitement of a power outage on a summer evening in (I think) Brooklyn.

It's a truth universally acknowledged that a blackout brings people together. In this story, everyone in the family is too busy to hang out, but when the power goes out, they spend the evening together looking at the stars, eating ice cream, and playing a game (even when the power comes back on).

The thing I liked best about it is that it almost doesn't need any words. The use of color is also really great. Inside, without electric lights, everything is gray. But when they go outside the night colors just POP. One funny side note is that I'm not sure if the main character is a little girl or a little boy. The dad calls him/her "buddy," which is show more usually something you call a boy, but the long hair made me think girl at first. Does this matter? Not really. But it might be interesting to see which way kids read it. show less

Do you remember times gone by when life was not so chaotic? Do you remember a time when your family spent quality time together free of technology and its obsession? This gem of a children's illustrated book and a Caldecott Honor, is wonderfully illustrated and focuses on the importance of being together.

When the power goes out across New York City on a summer night, a family comes together. Playing board games, going to the top of the roof to gaze at stars, and then walking downstairs and interacting with neighbors all lend to the fact that when technology takes over, we lose each other.

Simply being forced to forgo the cell phones, the tv and technology, equates to remembering that you had a life with others before all this nonsense show more consumed us. show less

5Q- The illustrations in this book and the layout of the text draw the reader into the story. The tall pages help block out any surrounding distractions and the color tones recreate the experience of a power outage. I found myself anticipating what lies ahead as the family climbed up and then down the stairs to the roof. The images successfully stimulate the emotions that come along with a child in complete darkness or a starry night or a street party.
4P- Kids and adults reading aloud will relate to the realistic events and reactions of the characters while the illustrations on the cover and inside are eye catching.

35 months - O loved this book. Sometimes us adult and kids are so plugged in we ignore everyone and everything around us and it can take a good blackout to bring us back to the simple things in life. Just think how much fun it could be to turn everything off for a night once a month, and pretend you're in a blackout with your kids. Read stories by flash light, play shadow puppets, board games by candle light, make up stories, just connect. FUN! I might have to buy this book and read when we have our pretend blackout!

This was a nice picture book. Very little text, relies more heavily on the pictures with a few words to tell the story. It's a simple story about what happens at a power outage and how it can bring a family together. The illustration style is happy and pop-y and a lot of fun. The night sky in this book kind of hinted back to Van Gogh's starry sky for me but that might just be b/c I like that painting.