Customer Reviews

Blackout

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An urban, multi-cultural family spends a hot summer night glued to the tv set, computer... until the power goes out. The book is in somewhat of a comic book format, with large panels and a few speech balloons. There's a generous use of cross-hatching, and what looks like digitally-added color. I loved the hidden little details, such as Thomas Edison's portrait looking disapprovingly on as the protagonist initially settles in for a night of video games.

Once the lights are out, the book switches to a subdued palette of mostly blue. Forced to hang out together, the family tries playing with a flashlight making shadow puppets on the wall, until they decide to go up to the roof and watch the stars. Then they head down to the street where's there's a block party atmosphere. An ice cream vendor is giving away ice cream (before it melts, I assume) and kids play by a splashing fire hydrant.

When power is finally restored, "everything went back to normal... but not everyone likes normal," and here we see the family purposely turning off the lights, and playing a board game together. This book would make a great bedtime story, and hopefully will inspire people to try out a night off-the-grid.

The brownstone buildings were brightly lit and the streets were humming with noise. The garbage truck roared as it drove down the street and the taxi cap beeped in return. Inside one brownstone everyone in the family was busy doing their own thing. Big sister was gabbing on her cell phone, Mom was tap tap tapping away on her keyboard, and Dad was cooking. Little bro reached up on a shelf to bring down a board game. It took two players and maybe someone would play.

"Get OUT!" Big sister wasn't about to play and neither were Mom and Dad because everyone was "much too busy." He ambled back upstairs to play a video game when all of a sudden ... "the lights went out." His eyes grew wide and he began to yell, "MOM!" It was really scary because nothing worked, even his big sister's cell phone. Mom rounded up the family and they peered out over the darkness of the city. They gathered around the table as Dad made a shadow puppet against the wall. Of course, big sister was totally bored. When would the power come back on and in the meantime, what would they do without it?

This is the delightful story of how a family came together during a summer blackout. Little brother, who has nothing to do before the blackout, suddenly finds that his fear of the darkness turns into a fun adventure. The streets and building tops come alive in Brooklyn when the lights go out and everyone finds that life does go on without technology. The artwork is bold and moves from panels to full page, unframed illustration after the blackout. One of my favorite pages is when everyone discovers the stars in the sky have appeared when the lights go out. Everyone will discover in this book that not being busy is sometimes more fun than being "much too busy."

On a hot summer night, the lights go out across the city. Families huddle by candlelight; then go up to the roof to see the light of the stars in the sky. A block party takes place on the rooftops and in the streets below. And then, the lights come back on: normal life resumes. Young children ages 3-6 will enjoy the light and dark of this book.

I remember so well when the blackout happened.
It was as much fun as described in this book.
The story is a great reminder of a fun time.
It teaches our kids that they can still have fun without all those electronic games.

The bored little girl looks out the window. It was a normal hot, noisy summer night. She tries to get reception on the old TV, but no luck. Meanwhile, Big Sis is on the phone, Mom is on the computer, and Dad is cooking. The board game requires two or more players, but everyone else is too busy. Until the lights go out.

Mom comes with the flashlight and the family huddles in the hot, quiet dark. Dad tries to entertain the kids, but only succeeds in scaring the cat. It gets unbearably hot and sticky, so the little girl suggest going up. So the family troops up and up to the roof where they find ... the lights. Big, bright Van Gogh-esq stars light up the unpolluted night and provide the perfect backdrop for a party - a block party in the sky. With nothing better to do, all the neighbors are out dining and dancing under the stars, cooling off in the fire hydrant, eating ice cream before it melts, and simply being together. Awww. But what will happen when the lights go on?

This well-drawn graphic novel-like children's book serves as a simple cautionary take of modern life so connected to the electronic world that basic connections to the people closest to us are nearly lost. It is a wake up call to regain some of that human connection by losing some electronic connection, even if only for a little while.

My children (ages three and five) enjoyed the story, but they weren't really excited by it. I think the book mostly resonates with - and was written for - overwhelmed parents struggling to get by in the digital world where our work follows us home on our cell phones and laptops, and sometimes it seems all we can do to get dinner on the table before bath and bedtime. Little children who want little more than to spend some time playing a game with Mom and Dad grow up to be big kids who spend their time nearly oblivious of Mom and Dad, locked in their rooms talking to friends they just saw an hour ago. Sometimes it practically takes an act of God to shake us out of our routine and wake us up to how fast our children have grown up under our noses. But the story reminds us that we don't have to wait for a catastrophic event to happen. We can always just turn out the light and disconnect.

Blackout by John Rocco

Summary: On a hot summer night in the city a young boy has trouble finding someone to play with him. Mom is on the computer, Dad is cooking in the kitchen. His sister is on the phone. Everyone is just too busy . . . until the lights go out.

What I liked about the book: I LOVE the illustrations. I'm very surprised this book didn't win the Caldecott (though I do love A Ball for Daisy.) You might not think that a book about the dark could be colorful, but this one is. The illustrations work hand in hand with the words to tell a great story about not only how a crisis can become a positive event, but also a story about the importance of "unplugging" every once in a while.

What I didn't like about this book: I loved it all and I will be ordering it for the Endeavour Library.

Recommended for First Grade and up.

AR Book Level: No AR Book level as of February 17, 2012

Mrs. Archer's rating: 5 of 5!

Every time the electricity goes out, I find myself commenting on how nice it is to have unexpected time reconnecting with my family and taking a break from the technology that pervades my life. That is exactly what this book is about. The youngest child in an urban family tries to convince the rest of the family to play a board game, but everyone is much too busy. Until the power goes out.

Vividly illustrated, this book shares a compelling message of reconnecting with family and community. The target audience is children ages 4-8, but it kept my attention as well as that of my 17-month-old son: the story is simple and direct, and the illustrations are quite captivating.

These are great illustrations -- this is a happy story about an electrical outage in the city. Great family -- two daughters and a cat.

Drop-dead wonderful illustrations.

No one has time to play a game with a little boy. Then the lights go out and everything is changed. The family's electronic gadgets don't work and suddenly everyone has time. The family goes up on the roof and then down to the street where everyone is having a party. And even when the power comes back on, the family decides now and then to voluntarily cut the power off and enjoy each other's company.

A beautifully illustrated story of how crisis remind people of the important things in life, told from the point of view of a child.

"Inside, everyone was busy.
Much too busy.
And then...
The lights went out.
`Mom!'"