A PLACE WHERE HURRICANES HAPPEN
by Renée Watson & illustrated by Shadra Strickland
“We’re from New Orleans, a place where hurricanes happen.” Four friends, who live on the same street and play together every day, describe in alternating first-person voices (with gentle, appropriate dialect) how Hurricane Katrina flooded their lives. As Adrienne, Michael, Keesha and Tommy express their feelings and describe the reactions of their families, readers will sense the community spirit and the resilience of the people of New Orleans. Two of the children evacuate with their families while the others remain, providing a snapshot of representative experiences. From traffic snarls to lengthy lines waiting for buses to losing a teddy-bear collection, the combination of the free verse and Strickland’s mixed-media illustrations realistically convey and personalize the effects of the disaster, all the while keeping the book age-appropriate. The characters are fictional, but the impact of the hurricane on people’s lives is real as conveyed through these children’s eyes. (Picture book. 7-10)