John Rocco (Blackout) captures all the excitement and adventure that a blizzard brings, here drawing from his experience as a boy during the blizzard of 1978.
He pulls in readers even before the title page, as a series of pictures features a wool-hatted boy next to a ruler, becoming ever more buried in snow. Words and pictures work in tandem as the boy looks out of his classroom window ("The first flake fell right before recess," a dotted line traces the snowflake's path), then snow nearly obscures the word "Monday" on the blackboard as the children watch in wonder at the window ("It was followed by many, many more"). The snow is "already over our boots" by the time the narrator and his sister get home after an early school closing. Rocco throws in the occasional pun: "I thought it would never stop" accompanies a nearly buried Stop sign. The siblings crawl out the window to enjoy the snow day, "but walking was hard--it was like trying to move through white quicksand." Their English sheepdog's nose is hardly visible above the snowfall ("we need sled dogs," he says). While Dad shovels, the siblings dig out a snow fort. However, inside the house, "things got tense as our food started to run out."
The narrator comes up with a plan to get supplies for not only his family but the whole neighborhood. With plenty to discover upon rereadings and a hero to root for, this glistening picture book makes the perfect winter companion. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness