Blackout

Rocco, J. (2011). Blackout.  New York:  Disney-Hyperion Books.

Blackout is a picture book by John Rocco.  It is written in the style of a graphic novel or a comic book. Blackout tells the story of a power outage in the large city of Brooklyn on a hot summer night.

The narrator of the book is a young boy whose family members have been leading separate lives.  When the power goes out, no one seems to know what to do.  After some failed attempts of bonding, the family goes outside to enjoy the stars and nightlife without the electricity.  Once the power returns and everyone returns to normal, the protagonist's family continue to enjoy time together.

The lack of text adds suspense to the story.  As the story moves to the power outage, words become fewer and fewer.  Then as the story begins to move to its climax, the text becomes more prevalent.

The colors are very symbolic throughout Blackout.  The use of darker and cooler colors help to tell the story.  There is even a page of complete darkness.  As the family grows closer together, the colors become brighter and the illustrator uses warm colors.

Blackout is a book that requires readers to think about family their own experiences together and what they would do in the same situation.