A+Storm+Called+Katrina



By Christopher Mann

__Bibliographical Data:__

“A Storm Called Katrina” – Myron Uhlberg Publisher: Peachtree Publishers ISBN: 9781561455911 Pages: 40 Illustrator: Colin Bootman Grades: 1-4 Awards: Booklist Editors Choice: Books For Youth 2011 Price: $13.74

__Summary:__ The story starts with a ten-year-old boy named Louis Daniel getting the news that a hurricane is coming from his mother. Louis plays the brass cornet and makes sure that his horn is always near him. His family stayed in their house until Louis’s father decided it was not safe anymore. The family left their home and joined their neighbors on the flooded streets trying to reach higher ground. When the water was too much for Louis and his mother to walk in they got on a piece of a floating away porch and the father pushed them to safety. While on the raft Louis spotted a dog alone sitting on a floating piece of wood. Louis wanted to save the dog because he felt sorry for him, but his parents said no. When the family reached safety they walked to the Superdome. When they arrived at the dome the family found a place for them to stay. Louis’s father went to get food and water before it ran out. While he was away older men tried to steal Louis’s water bottle. His mother decided to move away from these men. When the father tried to get back to the family he could not find them. Louis decided to go onto the field to play his horn so that his father could find him it worked. The family was reunited again in time for the buses to show up. Waiting in line for the buses George spotted the dog he saw floating down the street. The family decided to head home instead of getting on the bus, the dog came with them.

__Review:__ “A Storm Called Katrina” is a realistic fiction book written by Myron Uhlberg. The book describes a young boy named Louis’s experience during the devastating hurricane in New Orleans. The author and illustrator did a great job showing what New Orleans was like during the storm. The way that Uhlberg incorporated music into the story was extremely clever. In New Orleans music is a big part of the culture, especially jazz music. Uhlberg incorporated many aspects of New Orleans into the story while showing the natural disaster from a child’s point of view.

__Analysis of Literary Element:__ The illustrations by Colin Bootman represent the story by making the words come to life. Throughout the entire story the images vividly describe what is happening in the story. For children that are just learning how to read or struggle with reading will be able to follow along and understand what is happening from the pictures. Without the pictures to go along with the story the book would not be as effective in showing what happened during Hurricane Katrina.

__Author Biography:__ Myron Uhlberg was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1933. He grew up living with his mother and father that were both deaf. Myron Uhlberg did not start his career as a writer until he was 62 years old. He published his first book at the age of 66. Before his career as a write Uhlberg was in the army and after became a businessman. Now he is an award winning children’s book writer.

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