Jim Murphy

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Published by: Scholastic Press
Release Date: November 1, 2000
Pages: 144
ISBN13: 978-0590673099

 
Overview

ALA Robert F. Sibert Honor Book for Outstanding Nonfiction
The Jefferson Cup Award
An ALA Notable Book

On March 10, 1888, people were picnicking on the east coast. Two days later, a massive and unpredicted snowstorm was raging. From Delaware to Maine, the coast was paralyzed by hurricane force winds and unrelenting snow. Many places had more than four feet of snow. Hundreds of ships were lost at sea; tens of thousands of workers were stranded; telephone and telegraph wires went dead; and food and coal become scarce. In New York City alone, eight hundred died.

Use of first person accounts, diaries, letters and individual stories charting the course of the storm enables readers to experience the drama of the disaster firsthand. At the same time, readers are presented with a fascinating window into late 19th Century science, transportation, communication, and daily life. Blizzard! simultaneously explores the long-range impact of the storm in which above-ground transportation yielded to underground subways; unpredicted storms yielded to long-term weather forecasting; communications failures yielded to underground telephone and telegraph wiring; and chaos yielded to the birth of large-scale emergency planning. After the Great Blizzard, life was never the same.

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Praise and Awards

ALA Robert F. Sibert Honor Book for Outstanding Nonfiction
The Jefferson Cup Award
An ALA Notable Book
An ALA Best Books for Young People
Hornbook Fanfare Book
A SLJ Best Book
A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book
A CBC/NCSS Notable Book

“Skillfully done: humorous, jaw-dropping, thought-provoking and chilling.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“A fascinating account. The text is exciting without being melodramatic. The narrative is a seamless blend of history and adventure.”
—School Library Journal (starred)

“Like [The Great Fire] this is an example of stellar nonfiction.”
—Booklist (starred)

“With a confident tone, Murphy brings listeners back in time to March 12, 1888 and provide[s] a captivating blend of gravity, immediacy and drama… [A] gripping history lesson.”
—Publishers Weekly