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jennifermreads's review against another edition
4.0
Blizzard shares author/illustrator John Rocco’s experience with the Blizzard of 1978 in Rhode Island.
Having had my own experience with a blizzard, I leapt at the opportunity to read this gorgeously illustrated picture book. And, sure enough, even though I was not as courageous as the young John Rocco who braved the treacherous storm to get to the store, I had vivid images flooding my mind. I was buried in snow in the winter of 1981 in South Lake Tahoe. I distinctly recall: snow up to the eaves of our house, my dad outside shoveling, nearly continuously, so that our walkway stayed clear and we weren’t trapped inside; the exhausting snow angels & snow ball fights; and then just being exhausted with being enclosed in a white cave with seemingly no end in sight. The highways in and out of Tahoe were closed; the casinos were running “local specials” to try to draw in business before the food went bad and the slot machines got rusty!
Any book that can draw memories like these to the surface is a treasure. And, while I sure loved my “snow days” when I was growing up, I was delighted that Rocco’s book recalled the excitement of the first week of this Tahoe blizzard and then the exhaustion of the second week and then the stir-crazies of the third week when we just longed to get back to school and some sense of normality! This is a beautifully illustrated treasure for those who have experienced such a storm or for those who long to know what “snow days” feel like.
Having had my own experience with a blizzard, I leapt at the opportunity to read this gorgeously illustrated picture book. And, sure enough, even though I was not as courageous as the young John Rocco who braved the treacherous storm to get to the store, I had vivid images flooding my mind. I was buried in snow in the winter of 1981 in South Lake Tahoe. I distinctly recall: snow up to the eaves of our house, my dad outside shoveling, nearly continuously, so that our walkway stayed clear and we weren’t trapped inside; the exhausting snow angels & snow ball fights; and then just being exhausted with being enclosed in a white cave with seemingly no end in sight. The highways in and out of Tahoe were closed; the casinos were running “local specials” to try to draw in business before the food went bad and the slot machines got rusty!
Any book that can draw memories like these to the surface is a treasure. And, while I sure loved my “snow days” when I was growing up, I was delighted that Rocco’s book recalled the excitement of the first week of this Tahoe blizzard and then the exhaustion of the second week and then the stir-crazies of the third week when we just longed to get back to school and some sense of normality! This is a beautifully illustrated treasure for those who have experienced such a storm or for those who long to know what “snow days” feel like.
heetlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
A true story retelling of a 10 year olds take on the Blizzard of ‘78.
lanica's review against another edition
4.0
Star of the North nominee. I am reading this to all the kinder, 1st and 2nd grade classes.
pagesofpins's review against another edition
4.0
The true story and how-high-was-the-snow details will appeal to my older storytime kids, but the sparce text and dynamic illustrations are great for my preschoolers. Some subtle vocab worked in as well. Nicely done!
turrean's review against another edition
5.0
Bad storms are a fact of life. Rocco's book proves that community spirit is a fact, too! This book is a perfect winter or post-snow-day read, and a perfect accompaniment to weather units. I'm going to pair it with [b: The Snow Walker|1471574|The Snow Walker|Margaret K. Wetterer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349042036s/1471574.jpg|1462541], a similar tale about a child who helps his community during the terrible blizzard of 1888.
My students loved Rocco's Blackout! I bet this'll be a hit, too.
My students loved Rocco's Blackout! I bet this'll be a hit, too.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
In February 1978 I was living in northern NJ. Presumably we got caught by the same storm that the author did. Apparently NJ got at least 2 feet of snow, which really is a lot less than the 4 feet the author got.
Still this was a sweet book, with good art and a boy hero. There was a lot more show than tell in this one. You see how much effort it was to dig out by hand just in how many days it took. And in the journey to the store, we see our hero took plenty of time to play. And 1978 wasn't past the point that society changed and the boy would have needed a chaperone at all times to avoid social services from being called.
This was a good one
Still this was a sweet book, with good art and a boy hero. There was a lot more show than tell in this one. You see how much effort it was to dig out by hand just in how many days it took. And in the journey to the store, we see our hero took plenty of time to play. And 1978 wasn't past the point that society changed and the boy would have needed a chaperone at all times to avoid social services from being called.
This was a good one
stuhlsem's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this super cute story about a kid's experience with a blizzard that snowed people in for several days.
nerdybookworm23's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
snowelf's review against another edition
4.0
This book curiously would pair perfectly with the last book we read by [a:John Rocco|14920|John Rocco|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1308073190p2/14920.jpg], [b:Blackout|10168924|Blackout|John Rocco|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360565979s/10168924.jpg|15067694]. It's based on a childhood memory and highlights the magic associated with snow days and the world "shutting down". The illustrations are great, especially the large middle spread showing an aerial view of his neighborhood and his exploratory route out of it to make it to the store for supplies. I was a bit underwhelmed to see that he really only needed to go five houses down the street to get hold of the coveted supplies, but I understand that the author had to use his literary license to fit everything onto a single page. But this actually depicts a large snow storm, that really happened.