Scan barcode
A review by gymnerdreader
Blackout by John Rocco
5.0
Annotated Bibliography Entry: Blackout by John Rocco
Summary:
It is a hot summer day and all seems to be normal in one particular household. Everybody is busy doing something and none of them seem to have any free time to spend with their family. However that typicality soon changes when the whole city experiences a blackout and all the lights go out. After the lights go out the family was does what normal families do when the power goes out: they find any light they can and play board games, etc to pass the time. This particular pass time turned out to be too mundane for this family and headed outside to the roof where they saw bright stars in the sky and a party down below. The family then joins the party and when the power does return the family is more concerned with spending time together than being busy.
Personal Response:
I have read a lot of children's books and I have never seen a children's book that is set up like this one is. It is like a graphic novel almost and I love it. It reads almost as if you are reading a comic strip. With that being said, I could see children being drawn to this book because comics are always appealing to children. I also like how relatable this book is. I am sure there are kids who have parents that work and are always busy and I am sure they have also experienced a power outage of some sort. I just love that relatable aspect because that is what draws children in.
Descriptions of Illustrations:
Illustrations are very cartoon-esque and the characters just seem to pop off the page. It is perfect for the graphic novel aspect of the book. For example, when one page said "everyone was still" just by looking at the pictures you could really feel that sense of stillness. I personally love when the illustrations accurately convey just what the words are saying. I also find these illustrations appealing for children to the comic book aspect. The illustrations really pop!
Classroom Connections:
This would be an excellent book to use to introduce children to graphic novel type books or even comics since this book seems to align with that genre. While this book can be used to talk about style and genre, it can also be used to talk about cause and effect. I think students could easily pick out causes and effects just from the plot of the book. Other than that students could create their own plot diagram for the book because I think the plot details are easy to pick out. I think students could easily fill out a plot diagram for this book because of how easy to pick out the plot details are. This is a great book that can be used for a multitude of classroom applications.
Summary:
It is a hot summer day and all seems to be normal in one particular household. Everybody is busy doing something and none of them seem to have any free time to spend with their family. However that typicality soon changes when the whole city experiences a blackout and all the lights go out. After the lights go out the family was does what normal families do when the power goes out: they find any light they can and play board games, etc to pass the time. This particular pass time turned out to be too mundane for this family and headed outside to the roof where they saw bright stars in the sky and a party down below. The family then joins the party and when the power does return the family is more concerned with spending time together than being busy.
Personal Response:
I have read a lot of children's books and I have never seen a children's book that is set up like this one is. It is like a graphic novel almost and I love it. It reads almost as if you are reading a comic strip. With that being said, I could see children being drawn to this book because comics are always appealing to children. I also like how relatable this book is. I am sure there are kids who have parents that work and are always busy and I am sure they have also experienced a power outage of some sort. I just love that relatable aspect because that is what draws children in.
Descriptions of Illustrations:
Illustrations are very cartoon-esque and the characters just seem to pop off the page. It is perfect for the graphic novel aspect of the book. For example, when one page said "everyone was still" just by looking at the pictures you could really feel that sense of stillness. I personally love when the illustrations accurately convey just what the words are saying. I also find these illustrations appealing for children to the comic book aspect. The illustrations really pop!
Classroom Connections:
This would be an excellent book to use to introduce children to graphic novel type books or even comics since this book seems to align with that genre. While this book can be used to talk about style and genre, it can also be used to talk about cause and effect. I think students could easily pick out causes and effects just from the plot of the book. Other than that students could create their own plot diagram for the book because I think the plot details are easy to pick out. I think students could easily fill out a plot diagram for this book because of how easy to pick out the plot details are. This is a great book that can be used for a multitude of classroom applications.