Hurricane Katrina

Review: Drowned City by Don Brown

| Tasha

Drowned City by Don Brown

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans by Don Brown (InfoSoup)

This powerful graphic novel tells the story of Hurricane Katrina from the very beginning as the hurricane forms and grows in power to the slow recovery of New Orleans in the aftermath. As the winds and rains of the storm breach the levees around the city, readers will see the devastation that occurs as 80% of the city floods. The book tells the true story, one where everyday people are heroes, where supplies and help are not sent in a timely way, where presidents make appearances but don’t remedy the problems, and where people looking for help just find more death and despair. It is also the story of selfless people who come in and make a real difference, of rescues and saved lives. It is in short, a true story that unflinchingly tells the story of a storm and a city.

With an enormous list of references and sources at the back of the book, this graphic novel is based entirely on facts and first-person accounts. Brown tells the tale without any need to make it more dramatic, just offering facts about what happened and what went wrong to make it even worse. Brown’s account though is also filled with humanity, offering glimpses of the horrors that people survived, of the losses as they mounted, and of a world turned upside down for people trying to escape the city.

Brown’s art in this graphic novel is done mostly in browns and greens. There are striking pages that stop a reader for awhile, such as the art on pages 30 and 31 which has dead bodies floating past in purple water, even as survivors are being hauled up to a roof. Brown conveys the heat and the desperation of survivors, the desolation of the flooded city, and then the slow rebuilding process.

A riveting and powerful look at one of the worst disasters in American history, this graphic novel is a way to talk with children about Hurricane Katrina. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Zane and the Hurricane by Rodman Philbrick

| Tasha

zane and the hurricane

Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina by Rodman Philbrick

Zane lives in New Hampshire with his mother and is sent to visit his newly discovered great grandmother in New Orleans.  Unfortunately, he is there when Katrina hits.  Headed out of the city with his grandmother’s pastor in their church van, Zane is safe until his little dog, Bandit jumps out of the open window because some larger dogs in another vehicle are barking at him.  Zane goes after him, walking for miles until he catches him.  Realizing he’s closer to his grandmother’s house than the vehicle, he heads back there.  Then the storm comes.  Zane is in a house that is leaking, the flood waters start to rise, and he climbs with Bandit up into the attic.  From there he is rescued by an older musician wearing a wild looking hat and a young girl.  As chaos descends on the city, Zane finds that all of the rules change but that it is human kindness that makes all the difference.

Philbrick has crafted a very well-written book about Katrina.  He melds the details of the storm and its aftermath in New Orleans into the narrative, allowing it to form the backbone of the story.  At the same time, this is Zane’s specific story, one of luck and bravery.  The flooded city becomes the foundation of the tale, those happy to take advantage of the situation appear and the support of police is nearly nonexistent. 

Philbrick’s story is very readable, the storm offering a structure to the book that readers will feel approaching in an inevitable and inescapable way.  The beginning of the book is rife with dread and fear, knowing what is going to happen.  That fear never lets up even after the storm has passed.  Zane is a strong and resourceful character, one who is forced to trust others and their generosity. Race plays an important role in the book, from Zane’s mixed race to his two African-American companions after the flood. 

This is definitely a story of Katrina, but it is even more a survival story of a boy and his dog.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Blue Sky Press.

Review: Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods

| Tasha

saint-louis-armstrong-beach

Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods

Saint loves playing the clarinet.  He plays it for tourists in New Orleans to earn money for a new clarinet and for his future at Julliard.  Life isn’t all easy though, he has taken to a stray dog that his father will not allow him to adopt and his best friend has outgrown him, now spending her time partying with the cooler, older kids.  As Hurricane Katrina approaches, Saint and his family are not that concerned since it is expected to miss New Orleans, as the days progress, the tension builds and the warnings increase.  Though Saint’s family tries to send him to safety, things don’t go as planned and Saint is trapped by the weather and the flood waters.

Woods has written a book that captures the power of music in a young man’s life nicely, bridging the days before the storm, the time during the storm, and the time afterwards together with song.  The bulk of this book is the period before the storm hits, showing the loving family that Saint comes from, his close-knit neighborhood, friends, crushes, and his love of a dog.  While I know that this had a large part in establishing reader relationships with Saint, it is lengthy and could have been made more focused.  In particular, his friendship with Money is talked about at length, but the book never returns to her after the storm. 

The period during the storm is dramatic, with Woods leaving the drama of the storm to stand on its own.  More time could have been spent here with the reader, truly exploring the emotions and complexity of survival.  The same is true of the time after the storm, where only a few chapters are left for the aftermath.  My hope is that there is a sequel that will let us better understand the effect of the storm on Saint and his family, neighbors and friends.

There were also portions of the book that were too neat and tidy.  One such instance was when Shadow, the dog, brings Saint’s parents to him after the storm.  It was just too convenient and should have been foreshadowed more clearly to work better.

In the end, I have mixed feelings about this book.  A sequel may very well fix a lot of the dangling story lines, which would go a long way.  Saint is a strong male character and this is a book that children will find shows a close-up perspective on the storm.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Penguin.

Book Review: A Storm Called Katrina by Myron Uhlberg

| Tasha

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A Storm Called Katrina by Myron Uhlberg, illustrated by Colin Bootman

This is the heartfelt fictional story of Louis, a 10-year-old boy living in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hits.  When the storm hits, no one is really worried, until it worsens.  Then there is no time for the family to gather any belongings except Louis’ horn.  When they leave their home, they find a piece of porch floating and Louis and his mother climb aboard.  His father pushes the porch with them safely on top.  On the way, they saw disturbing things: a dog they are unable to rescue and a body floating by.  When they finally got out of the deeper water, they headed for the Superdome with the rest of the crowd.  His father went in search of food and water, leaving Louis and his mother in the seats.  But when some people got rowdy, they moved to a safer part of the Superdome.  The question becomes how will they ever find Louis’ father again?

Beautifully written and illustrated, this book bring images from the flood to life.  Uhlberg manages to write in an unflinching and honest way, while still keeping his young audience clearly in mind.  There are difficult issues here, but they are presented in a way that can be glossed past or more deeply explored.  Uhlberg also manages to build moods very skillfully from the storm itself to the days of waiting in the Superdome, there is a constant sense of hope.

Bootman’s artwork is exceptional.  He evokes fear, concern, but above all love and hope in his images.  The paintings play light against dark throughout, until the climax of the theme at the end of the book. 

A personal and powerful look at the impact of Hurricane Katrina, this book would work well in a classroom setting and for any child wanting to learn more about the hurricane.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Peachtree Publishers.

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