{"id":29517,"date":"2018-10-19T23:04:23","date_gmt":"2018-10-20T03:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=29517"},"modified":"2018-10-19T23:04:23","modified_gmt":"2018-10-20T03:04:23","slug":"review-of-drowned-city-by-don-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=29517","title":{"rendered":"Review of Drowned City, by Don Brown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Drowned City<\/p>\n

Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans<\/em><\/p>\n

by Don Brown<\/p>\n

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015. 96 pages.
\n2016 Sibert Honor<\/p>\n

Nonfiction in comic book form is an idea whose time has come. What could be more memorable? Do you want to teach history in a way kids will pay attention, absorb, and understand? In fact, speaking for myself, this is a way adults can read it and absorb much more information than reading regular text.<\/p>\n

Now, the story of Hurricane Katrina is not a pleasant story at all. This feels more hard-hitting than The Great American Dust Bowl<\/a><\/em>, since the people involved, including those who bungled the response, are still alive. Though both stories are horrific. And the reader can understand that better with the graphic illustrations.<\/p>\n

Don Brown uses a variety of panel arrangements and colors to keep interest high. Leafing through the pages, you get a sense of action.<\/p>\n

The book does end on a hopeful note. The last spread is a picture of new construction. The text on the last page says:<\/p>\n

One ruined neighborhood, the lower ninth ward, is overgrown with plants and weeds and has just 15 percent of the population it had before Katrina. But new houses are going up, built atop deeply driven piles, giving them firm roots to stop them from floating away during the next Katrina. The man setting the piles is a “born and raised” New Orleanian.<\/p>\n

“We’re coming back. This is home. This is life.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

hmhco.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Nonfiction\/drowned_city.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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