Blizzard Night

Disaster Strikes #3

by Marlane Kennedy, Erwin Madrid (Illustrator)

When disaster strikes, the only thing you can count on is yourself! A winter trip in the remote Michigan wilderness seemed like the perfect way for Jayden to get to know his new foster family. Though he doesn't have much in common with siblings Maggie and Connor, he's hoping they'll get to like each other over snow mobile races and steaming mugs of cocoa. But when the snow really starts to come down, the family van crashes and the three kids must go out into the bleak, white storm to search for help. Soon the wind is howling and night is starting to fall. Jayden, Maggie, and Connor will have to think fast, find shelter, watch out for bears, and somehow stay warm if they don't want to end up frozen in their tracks....

Genres: Adventure, Fiction, Childrens, Family, Survival, Chapter Books, Action

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2014

Reviews

[Shari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olivia devoured this book in two hours! She rated it 4.5 stars.

[Kathryn Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Homeschooling Book Fun
A great read with my 9 year old son.

[Gabriel Benitez · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Brutal! Me encantó. Creo que esta serie encontró un nuevo fan. Blizzard Night te deja pegado al asiento, realmente preocupado por lo que le pueda ocurrir a los personajes, tres chicos adoptados que en un viaje de vacaciones tienen que arriesgar su vida en el bosque para rescatar a su padre adoptivo que se encuentra herido dentro de una camioneta, fuera de la carretera y de la vista de todo mundo. Al principio, nadie esperaba una caminata de mas de dos horas, pero cuando una tempestad de nieve convierte todo en un páramo blanco e invisible, los chicos se perderán en el bosque en medio de una tormenta mortal. Solos, perdidos y asustados, tendrán que hacer uso de todos sus recursos para sobrevivir. ¡Buenísima!

[Keri Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great chapter book that students will love. Jayden is a foster kid who finds a new family. On their trip to their cabin in the woods, a blizzard hits. Jayden helps his 2 new "siblings" navigate the wilderness to find help because he has read many books about wilderness survival. Relatable characters and suspenseful weather will hook students as they traverse the snow with amazing 10-year old.

[Shari Nagy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book as a preview, as our school is reading it all together this upcoming week. Such a relatable concept, as the main character is with his foster family. I’ve never read a children’s book like this, with all the twists and cliffhangers! I know the kids will LOVE this book! Can’t wait to read it with them.

[Madeline Pratchler · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son and I read this book together. Jayden is a foster boy who has been placed with a new family. When trouble strikes and the children get caught in a blizzard, Jayden, an avid bookworm, uses information he has read to help them. Packed with adventure and character growth, it kept my son's attention!

[Carissa Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story line until the end of chapter 9 & the start of chapter 10 where they skip a full day of details which my kids had me makeup to continue on with the story. It was a fun story & a few parts that had me the parent crying a little. The info on adventure and the importance of teamwork to survive is intriguing and keeps the kids drawn wanting to hear what happens next.

[Kevin Findley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book for younger kids. It should be noted that the young hero in this adventure is a foster child, recently taken in by this family. It made for an interesting take on how the story played out.

Find it. Buy it. Read it!

[Vanessa Gonteski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chose this book as a read aloud for my almost 4yr old and he loved it we read to chapter 7 in less than 2 days and finished quickly. It was a fun read full of adventure and twists it was hard to put down.

[Silentmoon_8 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It for sure was a survival book. Jayden,Connor, and Maggie go on a adventure to find help when there car crashes due to the snowy strom. They all go through obstacles trying to survive the storm and stay warm.

[Nikki Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

The boys (H-8 and W-7) both really liked this book. It had cliffhangers that kept them wanting to read it after the end of each chapter.

[Nancy Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice quick kids read. Similar to I Survived Series. I would definitely read another in the series.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the fact that the adventure books that Jayden read helped him in the difficult situations the kids got into in this book.

[Atul Krishna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is indeed a basic survival tip but it was not as exciting as expected. It is entertaining for kids. The length of the story was short but interesting.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of new vocabulary words for the boy!

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

C. fiction, children's fiction, grade 2, Ohio author, series, (Disaster Strikes #3), Warsaw Elementary group reading

[Sandra Stedge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Low level, quick and easy, lots of adventure in nature.

[Shankar B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite part was when they got stuck in the blizzard and had to eat goldfish.

[Baylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shoutout to my 3rd grade teacher who got me this book for christmas years ago. She was pretty cool.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about family and practical information about survival in a blizzard, against a bear and on a frozen lake. The author did a great job of teaching while having a great story

[Tara Wolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great young childs novel. My 3rd grader loved it.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great story about belonging and being knowledgeable. A young boy saved his foster family after reading so many stories and knowing how to survive.

[Fatima!]

I learned some survival skills.

[Mikayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great kids book. They didn’t want to stop so we read it in one afternoon together!

[Amy Jewell]

An opening I would use for this book is to show the students the front cover-in big bold letters the title states DISASTER STRIKES. It shows the characters in the book running from a charging bear. I would ask my students, "How do you think the kids got caught in the blizzard?" and "Why do you think the bear started chasing the kids?" as well as, "Do you think they will get away from the bear?". The cover of the book tells a lot about the story-it is very action packed. In addition to the title of the book being Disaster Strikes, the subtitle is Blizzard Night. We read another story about a blizzard. How are the pictures on the covers of each book similar? How are they different?

Opening moves used: I used the opening move of raising questions in the readers' minds. By looking at the words and picture on the front cover, the students can hypothesize about what will be happening in the story. By asking questions about the picture of the kids running from the bear, I am drawing attention to the illustrator's craft and also foreshadowing problems in the story. By comparing the pictures on both of the blizzard books, I am prompting the listeners to notice details and differences between the two books.

I chose this book to be my intermediate book for my text set. It has a similar name to another book in the text set (Blizzard by John Rocco), but based on comparison of the book covers, the stories will be totally different. In addition, Rocco's book is a picture book without as much danger and adventure.

[Lorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jayden and his foster family are on their way to their cabin by the lake for a winter get away when a deer leaps in front of their van, forcing it off the road and injuring his foster father. He and his new siblings must go for help before it gets dark, which should be just a two mile walk in the late afternoon. The bad situation takes a turn for the worse, when a predicted snowfall turns into blizzard conditions that force them to seek shelter for the night. Fortunately Jayden’s love for adventure novels has given him some very reliable information that helps them survive the night.

This title from Scholastic’s Disaster Strikes series offers an exciting adventure of what it might be like to survive a blizzard. The short chapters and fast paced action will appeal to children who enjoy adventure stories, but might not be ready for a longer book and more complex writing. The series description says that this book is written on a 4th grade level and will appeal to kids in 2nd-3rd grade and I would agree and say that reluctant readers in 4th and 5th grade might also like to read this story. I would recommend this book for purchase to any school or public library.

This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book as a 6 books for $6 set through Scholastic book orders. I was searching for a good story to read with a high group of second graders in my classroom. After pre-reading the book, I was very excited to share this with my group of four little guys. I'm just over halfway through the book with them now and they love it! As far as hooking seven and eight year olds, this does it! I'm also very happy with the content of the book. I'm finding it hard to find higher level books that still have appropriate content. While there are some intense moments (car crash, hypothermia, being chased by a bear, falling through ice...), there wasn't a time that I thought it was too much. After chapter two, the students in the group already wanted me to get the rest of the books. Their excitement hasn't diminished in the slightest since!

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a pretty good book. I liked how the main characters were survivors in blizzards. I think the author could have added more details to the story and it would have been better.

[Dean Deters]

Summery
This book is about these 3 kids that their car crashis in the mountainsand three kids had to go out into the woods and they have to go find help for their dad.

setting
this book takes place in the mountains the woods and a big lake and its important to the story becausetwo of the most important event hapend in the woods and on the lake.

character trait
Jack is the foster brother and he is going on a trip with his new family Jack loves to read and to amgin he is climing mount everest.

most important event
the most important event is when Jack fell into the lake and barly gott out.

recomendation I recomend this book to any body that likes action.
Ethan.K

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy in a foster home feels somewhat out of place in the loving family he's staying with. He hardly dares to hope he might fit in. On their way to a remote cabin for a winter vacation, their van crashes and he and two of the siblings must go for help. As they try to make their way in blizzard conditions, his survival knowledge helps keep them alive and brings them all closer as they work together to stay alive and summon help.