Here are 100 books that Blackout fans have personally recommended if you like
Blackout.
Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
I have always loved animals and felt a deep empathy for every living creature. But it wasnât until the COVID lockdown that I truly connected with them. Locked up with a partner, a boy, two dogs, and three cats in a small house with a yard, I realized that it's not just us taking care of themâthey're doing their best to take care of us, too. Trained in art since childhood by my mom, it was during the COVID lockdown that I began to draw our furry companions in earnest. I spent every waking hour capturing their funny and endearing moments, ultimately putting it all together in a picture book.
This book immediately conquered my heart with its unique illustration style. The artwork is so captivating that you can get lost in it with your young reader, discovering new exciting details every time you look.
This charming tale of a dog's day out in the city is something both children and adults can relate to. I love how it teaches empathy for the dog's feelings without ever explicitly saying it, letting the pictures truly tell the story.
The book takes us on a delightful journey through New York City and to the beach, beautifully capturing the lives of a dog and his human in the bustling city.
4
authors picked
Hot Dog
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
4,
5,
6, and
7.
What is this book about?
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ⢠WINNER OF THE 2023 CALDECOTT MEDAL â˘Â This glowing and playful picture book features an overheatedâand overwhelmedâpup who finds his calm with some sea, sand, and fresh air. Destined to become a classic!
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post ⢠Publishers Weekly ⢠Kirkus Reviews ⢠New York Public Library
âAn utter joy from beginning to end!â âSophie Blackall, two-time Caldecott Medal winner
This hot dog has had enough of summer in the city! Enough of sizzling sidewalks, enough of wailing sirens, enough of people's feet right inâŚ
In 1894, Annie Cohen Kopchovsky set out to ride her bicycle. Not to the market. Not around the block. Not across town. Annie was going to ride her bike all the way around the worldâbecause two men bet no woman could do it. Ha!
This picture book, with watercolor illustrationsâŚ
Iâve been a writer all my life in one form or another, and I love to observe the world around me and the people in it. Iâve had a fascination with dusk, in particular, since I was a child. I remember having the most adventurous time playing with my sister and our neighborhood friends after dinner in the summertime and soaking in everything that time of day had to offerâfrom the beautiful colors of the sunset to the croaking toads to the smell of the freshly cut grass. Each time of dayâsunrise to midnightâoffers a sensory overload if you are open to it. These books I have recommended dive into that delight.
This is the new bedtime book for all, as it perfectly captures the sounds that might happen at night when you are trying to fall asleep in the city.
Families in a red brick building are fast asleep until a baby wakes up crying, and then mayhem ensues with a loud parrot, a game of flashlight tag, and a car alarm set off by a cat. Now that everyone is awake, itâs time to settle back to bed with the more soothing sounds of the night. My family can relate to these city sounds, as they were raised near downtown Austin.Â
A fresh, urban take on bedtime stories in the spirit of The House That Jack Built and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, from debut author Anne Wynter and Caldecott Honoree Oge Mora.
Everybody in the red brick building was asleep. Until . . .
WaaaAAH!
Rraak! Wake up!
Pitter patter STOMP!
Pssheew!
A chain reaction of noises wakes up several children (and a cat) living in an apartment building. But it's late in the night, so despite the disturbances, one by one, the building's inhabitants return to their beds-this time with a new set of sounds to lull them to sleep.
Iâve been a writer all my life in one form or another, and I love to observe the world around me and the people in it. Iâve had a fascination with dusk, in particular, since I was a child. I remember having the most adventurous time playing with my sister and our neighborhood friends after dinner in the summertime and soaking in everything that time of day had to offerâfrom the beautiful colors of the sunset to the croaking toads to the smell of the freshly cut grass. Each time of dayâsunrise to midnightâoffers a sensory overload if you are open to it. These books I have recommended dive into that delight.
If the title doesnât grab your interest, then open the book.
This story focuses on the subtle and simple sounds that you may hear during the beginning of a day. The illustrations evoke all things sunrise and the words match with their lyrical flow and call to action. This book will encourage everyone, even late sleepers like me, to throw off their covers, jump out of bed, and see what the day has to offer.Â
This beautiful companion to What Color Is Night? helps children explore and celebrate their morning routines.
At the first morning light, everything is quiet. Or is it?
Listen.
Welcome the day by exploring the subtle wonders-and exciting sounds-of the morning with this lyrical and picturesque story.
In the first morning light, all might seem quiet. In this companion to What Color Is Night?
Grant Snider explores the sounds-and silences-of morning. Ending in an
inspiring call to action-to toss off the covers, throw open the window,
and fill the world with your song-this uplifting book is sure to help
families feelâŚ
Real Princesses Change the World
by
Carrie A. Pearson,
Real Princesses Change the World is an inspirational and diverse picture book that highlights 11 contemporary real-life princesses and four heirs apparent from around the world.
Have you heard of a STEM-aligned real-life princess who is an engineer and product developer? Or a princess who is a computer expert? AnâŚ
Iâve been a writer all my life in one form or another, and I love to observe the world around me and the people in it. Iâve had a fascination with dusk, in particular, since I was a child. I remember having the most adventurous time playing with my sister and our neighborhood friends after dinner in the summertime and soaking in everything that time of day had to offerâfrom the beautiful colors of the sunset to the croaking toads to the smell of the freshly cut grass. Each time of dayâsunrise to midnightâoffers a sensory overload if you are open to it. These books I have recommended dive into that delight.
In this wordless picture book, a young child comes out of his tent to find his boot all with the help of a trusty flashlight.
Then he begins to explore the wilderness at night, shining his flashlight on various animals and plants. Itâs like another world is revealed. This story is playful and full of opportunities to seek and find all the amazing nocturnal creatures that enjoy the cover of darkness. At our current home, we have lots of nocturnal animals lurking around. Time to get out the flashlight!Â
Inside a tent it's cozy. But what is going on outside? Is it dark? Is it scary? Not if you have your trusty flashlight! Told solely through images and using a spare yet dramatic palette, artist Lizi Boyd has crafted a masterful exploration of night, nature, and art. Both lyrical and humorous, this visual poem-like the flashlight beam itself-reveals that there is magic in the darkness. We just have to look for it.
I worked as an industrial electrician for over two decades. At one point during a meeting to discuss an upcoming project, a question was posed about the delivery time of a specific piece of equipment. When the answer was given that it would be about a year away, it got me thinking: what if a specialized piece of equipmentâcritical to the grid and with an equally long lead timeâwas destroyed, how would the grid survive? More importantly; how would we survive? That single statement was the spark that ignited the fire in me to learn all about the grid, and to write Dark State.
I chose Outage by Ellisa Barr because it came from a unique viewpoint with regards to an attack that brings down an electrical grid; namely, a young personâs perspective. While other novels about grid attacks primarily have adults as a protagonist, Outage tackles the topic from a younger personâs frame of reference, along with all the unique adolescent problems that come with it.Â
And while the temptation would be for the main character, an adolescent girl, to become a courageous and seasoned adult overnight, the author wisely takes her time and sets us on a journey of a slower evolution. While not containing any revelatory information about what elements of a society beset with no electricity would have to endure, I still liked this book as it reminded me to not always see things from my adult perspective.Â
When fifteen-year-old Dee is left at her grandpa's farm in rural Washington, she thinks her life is over. She may be right.
An electromagnetic-pulse attack has destroyed the country's power grid, sending the United States back to the Dark Ages. Now Dee and Grandpa must face a world without electricity and clean water-let alone cell phones and the Internet-as well as the chaos brought on by this sudden catastrophe. Soon their town begins to collapse as disease and lawlessness run rampant. With handsome, troubled Mason and friendly boy-next-door Hyrum at her side, Dee fights to survive and deals with aâŚ
Thereâs something about a horror story set in the winter, especially with characters stuck in a snowstorm, that makes it more chilling to me. My first novel, Ancient Enemy, was inspired by my love of horror set in the dead of winter. If you havenât read these books on my list, I hope youâll check them out. It was difficult narrowing the list down to just five â I can think of so many other great winter-themed horror novels.
While not technically a horror novel, this book paints a scary possibility â an unflinching look at what a nationwide blackout in the middle of winter would be like, focusing on a group of people in an apartment building in Manhattan. They are trapped, trying to find food, trying to stay warm, trying to survive. Loved this book. I always recommend this one.Â
The incredibly realistic story of one family's struggle to survive the apocalyptic destruction of New York. GoodReads Award winning million-copy international bestseller now in development with NETFLIX.
â â â â â "Shows how dangerous our transition to an interconnected infrastructure has become." âKaric Allega, Joint Military Cyber Command, US NAVY
New York goes dark in the dead of winter... A terrifying mystery begins... But who is the enemy?
Mike Mitchell is an average New Yorker struggling just to keep his family together and take care of his two-year-old son when a string of disasters shreds the bustling city aroundâŚ
Iâm A.M. Geever, and I write post-apocalyptic and disaster fiction. Iâve always been curious about what we are as humansâgood or bad, or a mix of both? I'm fascinated by how ordinary people riseâor breakâwhen the world falls apart. Disasters and apocalypses strip life down to its essentials: survival, love, loyalty, and the choices that define us. While I'm woefully unprepared for a zombie apocalypse or other disasters, Iâve spent years imagining "What would I do if...?" That curiosity fuels my writing and my reading. The books on this list captured that same feeling for meâgritty, hopeful, and deeply human stories that keep you wondering: if society crashed tonight, who would you become?
I read Dies the Fire about twenty years ago and think of it often.
An unexplained phenomenon changes the laws of physics, so goodbye electricity! Gunpowder doesnât burn either. From there, itâs mass die-offs and different factions trying to figure out what to do next.
I love stories that go deep into world-building, and this book does. From the sinister turn the Society for Creative Anachronism takes to the Wiccan and other communities that stand against them, the detail is rich but not overwhelming.
I loved seeing how people adapted and how early decisions took on a life of their own in ways no one could have anticipated.Â
S. M. Stirling presents his first Novel of the Change, the start of the New York Times bestselling postapocalyptic saga set in a world where all technology has been rendered useless.
The Change occurred when an electrical storm centered over the island of Nantucket produced a blinding white flash that rendered all electronic devices and fuels inoperableâand plunged the world into a dark age humanity was unprepared to face...  Michael Pound was flying over Idaho en route to the holiday home of his passengers when the planeâs engines inexplicably died, forcing a less than perfect landing in the wilderness. AndâŚ
I am an author who also penned a novel during the pandemic, with a timeline that stretched into the first six months of the pandemicâagainst the advice of my agent and the publishing industry at large. I know many authors choose not to write about intense political and social happenings, but that âlife will never be the same againâ feeling was something I couldnât avoid. The pandemic threw people together and kept us apart at the same time. I was intensely interested in its incubator effect as well as the silo aspect quarantining had on all of our lives.
The opening of this book knocked me out, and I was hooked.
I usually veer toward literary, slower, familial dramas, but this book combined what I love in literary family dynamics with the frightening premise of an inexplicable disaster occurring in the outside world. The suspicion we were quick to possess about others during the early days of the pandemic is heightened to a new level with two couples pitted against each other, one preoccupied with the welfare and antics of their children.
I loved the construct that had even spouses second-guessing each other. The intensity of the situation brought out the worst and eventually the better sides of all the characters, a phenomenon that resonated as I read this book during the first year of the pandemic, at the same time rioters invaded our nationâs capital. Â
Iâm a Canadian writer living in southern British Columbia. When I was young, most people thought I was too small and frail to do awesome things. It wasnât until I got older that I began to understand that my love for wild places and adventures was at the heart of who I was, and I began to see that I was much stronger than I thought. These days, I hike, climb, kayak, cross-country ski, and snowshoe â anything that gets me outside in nature. And I've done some awesome things out there! I want to change the way people see nature, not as something to be conquered, but to be treated with affection and respect.
Iâve read post-apocalyptic novels for adults, but I know that children have even more reason for anxiety about potential present-day disasters.
96 Miles is a survival novel for readers aged 9-12 that appealed to me because the disaster is a believable, wide-scale power outage. The setting is identifiably now, and it takes place on a lonely road in the desert in Nevada.
The book is a page-turner, but thereâs also a sense of hope that kept me reading. The four children pool their resources: food, water, knowledge, and maybe most importantly, emotional support. Their teamwork and a few practical survival skills keep them going when many adults would have given up.
21 days without power. 2 brothers on a desperate trek. 72 hours before time runs out...
The Lockwood brothers are supposed to be able to survive anything. Their dad, a hardcore believer in self-reliance, has stockpiled enough food and water at their isolated Nevada home to last for months. But when they are robbed of all their supplies during a massive blackout while their dad is out of town, John and Stew must walk 96 miles in the stark desert sun to get help. Along the way, theyâre forced to question their dadâs insistence on self-reliance and ask just whatâŚ
An engaging picture book for children that celebrates what it means to be American!
What does it mean to be American? Does it mean you like apple pie or fireworks? Not exactly. This patriotic picture book is perfect for Memorial Day, Independence Day, Election Day, or any day you wantâŚ
As a little girl I dreamed of becoming a sports reporter. I loved to write and spent most of my free time playing or watching sports. I earned an academic-athletic scholarship to Davidson College to play volleyball and went on to receive my masterâs in journalism from the University of Southern California. After landing a job as media personality with the Houston Texans, I thought my career would skyrocket to national television. But I quickly learned that the world of sports journalism is anything but predictable. As I balanced motherhood and a career in sports reporting, I realized the most fascinating stories were the ones being created inside my own head.
When this novel came out, I was traversing Texas, working as a sideline reporter for college football games.
I instantly related to the heroine Shea Rigsby who grew up on Texas football and dreams of becoming a football reporter. I had been in her shoes. That was my dream too. But you donât have to be a football fan to appreciate this book. As Shea pursues a job covering the NFL and sparks fly with the Cowboyâs star quarterback, she struggles to find contentment in her career and romantic life.
It isnât until she opens her heart to unexpected love and faces challenging family dynamics that sheâs able to realize her deepest desires.
The Number One New York Times bestseller. Ask yourself: what would you do if the one for you was the only person you couldn't have?
Shea Rigsby is content enough with her life in the small town of Walker, Texas. She has her dream fangirl job working for Walker's football team, a mostly satisfactory relationship with her boyfriend, and even if she's got the sneaking feeling life is passing her by, she doesn't quite have the confidence to do anything about it. But everything changes when the mother of Lucy, Shea's best friend, dies suddenly. Lucy's father, now a widower,âŚ
