Shelbi Agosti's Book Report on "The Big Dark"

Name: Shelbi Agosti

Title of Book: The Big Dark

Author: Rodman Philbrick

What was the problem in the book, and how was it solved? Be specific.

On New Years Eve in Harmony, New Hampshire, there was a massive solar flare that knocked out all

of the electricity throughout America.  At one time, every cell phone, computer, car engine, battery-

anything that uses electricity- suddenly stopped functioning. One morning, Charlie Cobb was woken

up by his sister, Becca, who was screaming and crying for him to wake up.  When he got up, Becca

showed him that something was wrong with their mother. And there was, she was curled up on the

bathroom floor. Not asleep or unconscious, but her eyes were unfocused and her words were

slurred. She was trying to speak, but the best they could get out of her is, “nah me adah.”  Charlie

figured out she was trying to say Naomi Adler, who is the pharmacist. She told the kids that their

mother was trying to stretch her prescription, taking one pill every other day instead of everyday.

Charlie was very worried when he counted that she only has 19 pills left, meaning 19 days. He went

to his friend Gronk’s house, and got his best skis and went over 50 miles to get that same medication.

 On his journey he met some coyotes, and the Boncoeur’s who let him stay a night, and fed him. He

did make it to Concord and found the exact medicine at mental hospital, and met some friends

there too. On his way back home, he stopped at the Boncoeur’s because he promised to. The

elderly couple’s son loves to put his dogs in dog sled races. So he offered Charlie a ride home,

and in less than 5 hours they got home.  Charlie got to give his mom her medicine, and soon, the

electricity was running.

What was the author's purpose or purposes in writing the book? Explain how you know.

The author’s purpose in writing this book is to entertain.  I know this because my book is fiction,

so it is made up. Also, I enjoyed reading it.  

What did the title have to do with the book?

The title is The Big Dark.  It relates to the story because in the story there is a massive solar flare,

and it knocks out all of the electricity.  So, during the night, there is no light at all, except if there

is moonlight. Usually the clouds covered the moon, so it was pitch black at night.  

Tell in your own words how the setting of the story made it more interesting. Be specific.

The setting in this story is Harmony, New Hampshire.  It is a small village with not many residents.

It made it more interesting because not many people live there.  Also because of the electricity being

out, there was a limited source of what everybody needed, due to the fact that the local market

burned down.

If one of the characters visited our classroom, what question would you ask them? (Make sure the

question relates to the plot/problem/actions of the story.) *Give the name of the character with the

question!!*

If Charlie visited our classroom, I would ask him how hard it was to ski for all of those miles,

and how he learned to be that well of a skier.

Pretend you are a librarian recommending the book to someone. Write a paragraph telling what

you would say.

If I were a librarian recommending this book to someone, I’d tell them that this is a really good

book.  If you like books with suspense then this is the book to read. Also, if you are interested

in adventure, this book is full of it. I highly recommend this book.  

If they made a movie of this book, which scene would be most important to include. Explain

the scene with details and why it's important.

The most important scene to include would have to be when Charlie’s mother was in the

bathroom.  Charlie’s mom was trying to stretch her prescription, and it caused her to act weird.

It’s important because that is the reason Charlie went off on skis to get more medicine.