Avail Yourself Blizzard Of Glass: The Halifax Explosion Of 1917 Brought To You By Sally M. Walker Delivered In Digital Edition

applaud Sally M. Walker's brevity. In the hands of another modern historian, the reader would likely slog through every political intrigue, alliance, battle, pandemic, economic justification, and every minute detail of World War I to explain this singular event.
Nowadays, a reader travails through two to three hundred pages before the actual event indicated in the title actually occurs, I suspect that a lot of this has to do with getting the page count up which in turn translates to more cheddar, The fact that this accident was the largest manmade explosion until July,, leveled Halifax, Canada, and killed thousands is both fascinating and tragic, However, the reader will notice that Walkers language and explanations are often better suited for a middleschool history text, She feels it necessary to spend entire sentences defining words, Theyre so canned it seems like she copied them straight out of the OED, Thanks Walker, I knew the definition of “pension” in the sixth grade, Great book! It's the kind of nonfiction I like best, with a combination of facts and personal narrative, all told with a sweeping movement and intensity.
The introductory chapters, where we hear about who went to work and who went to school and who stayed home sick and who only went to school in the afternoon, were unbearable as I waited to find out which of these places was safe and which wasn't.
As is right and proper in juvenile nonfiction, much of the book focuses on children's experiences and memories, The events of this book may have little bearing on the world today, as astonishing and horrific as it was at the time, but it is moving and fascinating all the same.


I do notice that the last chapter of any juvenile narrative nonfiction seems to be the weak point, as the author tries to tie in the events of the book with the present day and/or make connections for the American childreader.
But this seems to be the expected way one ends such a book these days, Perhaps it's time for some creativity from authors and editors there,

Star knocked off only because I didn't have any "OMG this book is amazing" feeling afterward, and because I did have some trouble keeping track of who was whothough I'm not sure what the author could have done to improve that without going overboard and saying every time, for instance, "James, the boy with the watch and two young brothers who was walking to school, was thrown to the ground sustained this injury looked for his brothers" etc.
It's certainly one of the best I've read this year and should turn up on the Sibert docket, if not the Newbery, I prefer this to Amelia Lost, A fascinating chronicle of the catastrophe and its human toll, I had heard of this explosion but never knew the facts until I read this book, On December,, a munitions ship loaded with explosives collided with another ship in Halifax harbor, setting off a fire and explosion that destroyed much of the town and killed thousands of people.
In addition to the many injured, overpeople completely lost their vision because they were standing in front of windows that shattered when the explosion occurred.
It was followed by a blizzard that hampered rescue efforts, Walker selected particular children and their parents to follow before, during, and after the blast, thereby putting a human face on the tragedy for readers.
In some cases she was able to interview relatives of the survivors for firsthand accounts, Photos and maps provided additional emphasis to the horror of the destruction, Walker describes how rescue and relief efforts were undertakenimagine being suddenly homeless in the winter!as well as how the neighborhoods were rebuilt, Boston, Massachusetts, was especially forthcoming in sending relief, and even today is honored by the people of Halifax, Since Decemberis my birthday, I'll never again celebrate without pausing to remember another event that happened on that day, Highly recommended! This is the story of an explosion of a munitions ship on December,in Halifax Harbor, what lead up to it, the massive force of the explosion, families involved and what happened afterwards.
Two thousand deaths five hundred being children, nine thousand injuries and the blizzard that happened the day after and the extraordinary relief effort make this a fascinating read.
It was the largest manmade explosion before the atomic bomb, On the last page is a picture of an anchor shaft from the ship Mont Blanc that weighspounds, The explosion hurled it two and a half miles, At onlypages this is a quick read, Title:Blizzard of glass
Author:Sally M, Walker
Genre:nonfiction
Publication Date:November,
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Blizzard of Glass by Sally M.
Walker is a nonfiction story that is a very gory book but it was worth the time, If you're into nonfiction I recommend it, Also if you're inth grade this book would be appropriate for you to read, I learned about a huge explosion that killed thousands and how the explosion happened along the way, I learned about families how some survived and some didn't.
I also learned about the wars they helped fight like World War, The reader doesnt just learn about the explosion we learn about how the Halifax boat carried supplies to wars and the recovery of the explosion and what else the explosion did.
As if the explosion wasn't enough, there was a blizzard while they were trying to recover the dead and heal the living in Richmond and Halifax in.


Middle grade history, which means that it's accessibly written and full of personal narratives, possibly more so than an adult book on the same subject might be.
And more pictures, too. The subject itself is fascinating enough on its own, and Walker builds up suspense by taking her time in setting the scene, She also doesn't skip out shortly after the explosion happened, instead following up on the relief efforts afterwards,

Of course, you could always read the sitelinkWikipedia article on the explosion, but it isn't as personal, and there aren't as many pictures of the devastation.
Wow! What a story, what loss and sadness, but there was also kindness and bravery, a true story of two ships colliding in Halifax causing a huge explosion, and a tsunami, Then two blizzards hit during rescue efforts, . . the largest manmade explosion before the atom bomb, On Dec,, there was an explosion in the Halifax Harbour, Aroundpeople were killed and many more injured,

This book is aimed toward younger readers, but I found it a good introduction, There are also plenty of archival photos included, The author decided to tell the stories of a few specific families to follow what happened to the people in those families, what they were doing at the time, etc.
I do think this makes the book more “relatable”,

I did know of the explosion, but this is the first Ive read about it, to really get more info/details on it.
I already have other books on my tbr about the topic, as well, I thought this book was very well done, Hate to say I “really liked” a book about a disaster, though Im sure I have before! Awesome, freaky and terrifying and how had I never heard of the Halifax Explosion, the biggest manmade explosion before Hiroshima These Canadians are really too quiet and unassuming.


The book is supersuspenseful as the author ticks off what each member of several families living near the harbor was doing on the morning that two ships one laden with munitions converged.
The tickticktick tone of it all is sickeningly scary, supercinematic, kind of pukeinducing, You have no idea as you're reading which kids and grownups are going to die though depending on where they are in proximity to the water, you have a pretty good idea.
If this were a movie, you'd be all TOO MUCH, MICHAEL BAY! when the BLIZZARD comes after the giant explosion, hampering rescue efforts, Terrific reporting with impressive use of

source materials historical documents and interviews with descendants,.stars

I had never heard of this disaster that happened in Dec,in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This is a short children's nonfiction book, and I saw the title on an ALA's Best of, booklist.

A ship filled with munitions for World War I ran into another ship in Halifax Harbor, The resulting explosion was the largest manmade explosion that had ever occurred, It remained the largest manmade explosion untilwhen the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima,

The book was made very personal by the author choosing to focus on a half dozen particular families and what specifically happened to them.
Couldn't put it down. I can seeth/th/th grade students being drawn in as Walker narrates the stories of several of the families and other individuals who started out having a typical day on December,.
At:a. m. a ship carrying tons of munitions to the war in Europe was making its way through the narrow straight between Halifax and Dartmouth and collided with another ship.
At first it seemed as though the initial fire could be contained, Within a few minutes, though, the largest manmade explosion prior to Hiroshima devastated the two cities, instantly killingpeople, If you were standing at a window watching the fire before the explosion, chances are the blizzard of glass flying at you also blinded you.
Walker describes the aftermath including how people came from all over Canada and the United States to help the community recover,

Walker's writing is superb, She has become a "go to" author for me as far as finding good books for students, She understands her young audience of readers and, in this book, weaves together details to create a suspenseful narrative filled with intriguing facts and tidbits of information students will ponder over and over again.
I seem to be having a problem with books I am listening to on Overdrive, This is at least the second or third youth oriented book I have read, It is a well written one, but, still a children's book,

I am very glad that this was not the first book I have read about the disaster that occurred in Decemberin Halifax Harbor.
sitelinkCurse Of The Narrows by sitelinkLaura M, MacDonald is ever so much better, This book, however, tones down the disaster that occurred whereas Curse brings home just how much of a disaster it is, This is especially so because this isn't a very well known incident, Part of this was due to it occurring during WWI and Canada probably wanted to tone it down while many Canadians were blaming it on the Germans.
Germany had nothing to do with it,

Two ships collided in the middle of Halifax harbor, One of these ships was loaded with armaments and flammable stuff coal, oil, etc while the other was loaded with items meant for the saving of Belgium, including bandages and other related items that would catch fire real easy.
At least one of the ships was abandoned and subsequently went plowing into the pier, The wreckage caused a tsunami, And a few days later they get a blizzard, So they had a confluence of fire, water too much and snow, Relief was unable to get through for several days,

Blizzard only gives us a very scanty view of this, Maybe because it is a children's book, And the author doesn't feel a young person capable of understanding what happened, Whereas Curse, I think, gave a fuller story, I was disappointed. I didn't feel as engaged in the people as I would have liked, I don't know if it was because we were introduced to too many families for me to keep them straight or because not enough time was spent developing a relationship with them before the tragedy.
It is a very interesting story and certainly one I had not heard about, I guess here in the US we don't care much about bad things way over in Canada, The Halifax explosion was the largest manmade explosion prior to the atomic bomb, I think this could make great historical fiction, where the author might take more liberties with the characters so that we might be more invested in them.
I picked up an Advance Readers Edition of this book at the annual conference of the American Library Association last month, Technically, I am too biased to review it: Sally Walker is a friend and Henry Holt is publishing my own next book, But Im not the sort of girl that would let those things sway her into praising a book she didnt love, . . and I love this book too much not to sing about it,

In, a ship carrying munitions into Halifax Harbor collided with another ship, setting off what was then the largest manmade explosion in history.
The accident happened on an otherwise humdrum December morning, and Sally Walker tells the story perfectly, bringing readers into Halifax, showing them around, feeding them breakfast, walking them to school, and leading them, moment by painstaking moment, toward the disaster that changed the community forever.
She gives special attention to those facets of the story that will most intrigue young people, and she does so with respect and care for both her subjects and her readers.


This is narrative nonfiction at its finest, folks, A pageturner right out of the history books, a disaster story told not for its shock value, but for its enduring value, Todays kids are surrounded by disasternatural or manmade, real or in soundbyte, To some of them, it may feel as if disaster is a new thing, as if dealing with it is something humans are not equipped for.
The fact isand BLIZZARD OF GLASS readers come to understand thiswe humans have dealt with disaster for our entire history, And time and again, weve come together, in community, to help one another through, That message rings powerfully in this book, and its why I made sure both my tweens had a chance to read it before I passed it along, with rave reviews, to my town librarian.


BLIZZARD OF GLASS will be available in bookstores on November,, Dont miss it!. Halifax is my hometown.
. December,was the day of the explosion, By pure happenstance, I started reading this book on Dec,at:pm, It had beenhours since the clock tower had tolled at:am in Halifax in remembrance,

For the nextdays, I lived the explosion, practically in real time, trying to place Halifaxlocations with my memories of Halifax, I even texted my older sisters, I don't think I've ever felt so close to history, Testament to the author's writing, it was gripping, and I was tearing up by the end, .