Blizzard! The Storm That Changed America by Jim Murphy

Bibliographical citation:  Murphy, J. (2000). Blizzard! The Storm That Changed America. New York: Scholastic Press. 136 pages. ISBN: 0590673092 .

Awards:  SLJ Best Books (2000), ALA Notable Children's Book (2001).

Author's website: http://www.jimmurphybooks.com/

Annotation:  Using historical newspaper articles, quotes from victims, and photographs, Jim Murphy depicts the devastation from the Great Blizzard of 1888.  This story shows the many ways that people were affected, and how the impact of the storm changed American society.

Personal Reaction:  This narrative about the Great Blizzard of 1888 is a riveting one.  Author Jim Murphy explains how missed weather signals and the closing down of the weather station for the Sabbath created conditions where people were completely oblivious to this very dangerous and  threatening storm.  The story begins with introductions to people of all ages and all walks of life and follows each of them through their particular storm experience.  Many victims were caught unaware as they didn't realize the dangerous potential of this snowstorm.  As the snow piled up and temperatures dropped, citizens continued to try to get to work, school, and wherever else they were supposed to be, simply ignoring the unsafe and hazardous conditions of the weather.

Once food became scarce because of the inaccessibility of transportation, price gouging occurred and many suffered.  The poor were impacted the most, of course, since their paychecks were barely enough to survive under regular conditions, and the increases of  a few pennies for items such as milk, meats, or even coal forced these families to go hungry.  Luckily the danger of the storm passed very quickly and things soon returned to normal.  This didn't happen, however, without this blizzard first claiming many victims.

This storm forever changed the way that things were handled by many politicians, as well as the government.  The lack of communication that occurred because of the conditions made people realize how vulnerable our country and people are, and led to many changes in the upkeep of roads, the laws surrounding snow removal, and the expectations that citizens keep their properties clear of debris that can be hazardous.  This particular storm and the losses that occurred because of it is well documented and still survives today because of the enormous impact that it had upon its victims.  Murphy connects today's readers directly to this crisis that happened over 100 years ago by utilizing the words of the people who experienced it and the pictures that display just how crippling this storm was to them.

Front/Back Matter: Table of Contents, Notes on Sources and Related Reading Material, Index.

*Bibliographical citation information, award information, as well as image retrieved from www.bwibooks.com (Titletales).