The young girl in the story is bored. She wants someone to pay attention to her but her family is busy - her sister is on the phone, her mother is on the computer, and her father is cooking dinner. She gives up and goes to her room to play video games.
But then the lights go out. This story is told in a simple but beautiful illustrations which is highlighted on the page that shows the New York skyline as it usually is then as it fades to black.
Suddenly, the family has time to spend together. They make shadow animals and are having a good time. When the August heat drives them outside they meet up with their neighbors - as everyone in the city with roof access was outside hoping for a breeze.
Rocco captured the feel of the city in a blackout - neighbors come together and have impromptu feasts to consume all of the perishable food, they wander around the city and glory in the silence, and they look at the stars (which are only visible in a blackout). This book is a must read for any New Yorker who was here for the 2003 blackout and really anyone who has spent a great family evening huddled together around a flashlight or candles entertaining each other.
Rocco, John. (2011). Blackout. New York: Hyperion.
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