A Storm Called Katrina

The pair behind Dad, Jackie, and Me turn their attention to the harrowing events of Hurricane Katrina as seen through the eyes of a fictional child. Ten-year-old Louis Daniel is African-American and a horn player like his idol, Louis Armstrong. He goes to bed during a fierce storm and awakens to encroaching water. Bootman's dramatic oil paintings and the boy's first-person narration provide realistic immediacy as the boy's family makes its way through their flooded neighborhood on "a piece of someone's porch that was floating by." Uhlberg hints at the death toll: "y broom hit a pile of clothes. Mama covered my eyes. 'Don't look, Baby, ' she said. But I couldn't help looking." The dark-hued, realistic illustrations create a somber mood that refuses to lift even when the family finally reaches the Superdome. The boy's shiny cornet, saved from floodwaters, figures prominently in the family's experience at the chaotic stadium, giving comfort and continuity. Readers are in for a deeply personal and sometimes uncomfortable look at a disaster whose ramifications are still being felt. The book concludes with author notes and several photographs. Ages 7-11. (Aug.)

Gr 3-5--Louis Daniel, a 10-year-old African American boy named for famed New Orleans musician, Louis Daniel Armstrong, always keeps his cornet close at hand. When Hurricane Katrina strikes in 2005 and the levees break, Louis Daniel's father finds a floating piece of porch to ride upon. Keeping an eye out for 'gators, Louis paddles with a broom and the family moves through murky brown water and floating debris. Everything from a fake Christmas tree to a disturbing "pile of clothes" and a black and white dog float by. They take shelter in the airless, stinking, crowded, and chaotic Superdome. When his mom and he are separated from his father, Louis saves the day with his cornet. Narrator Brandon Gill gets the voice just right as the young boy's panic and frustration escalate in Myron Uhlberg's realistic fictionalized account (Peachtree, 2011) of a city overwhelmed by water and chaos. An author's note following the story provides the horrific statistics of the third most dangerous storm in U.S. history. Have the book available so students can peruse Colin Bootman's realistic oil paintings. Sure to provoke thoughtful discussions, this audiobook can also be used during weather units.--Lonna Pierce, MacArthur Elementary School, Binghamton, NY