Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Hurricane Katrina: Aftermath of disaster
Nonfiction Series
For ages 8 to 12
Compass Point Books, 2007 ISBN: 978-0756521011
It was the end of August 2005, and a hurricane was on its way. Though many people had already evacuated the city of New Orleans twenty percent of the population were still there and had no where to go. Thus is was that 10,000 people were taking refuge in the aging Superdome sports stadium when the hurricane hit on August 29th. Things might have not been too bad for New Orleans had not four of the levees that protected the city broken and let water in to flood the city. When the people in the Superdome were finally able to leave the stadium they found themselves surrounded by a scene of terrible destruction. It was going to take a lot of work to get the lively city of New Orleans back on her feet.
In this excellent account of what happened during and after Hurricane Katrina the author not only describes what occurred but she also sets the scene for her readers explaining why the failure of the levees was so crucial. Readers will come to understand why chaos reigned for a long time after the hurricane had passed and why it took so long for help to arrive. Young people will also see how the help of volunteers and charity workers was essential for the recovery of the region and they will come to appreciate how complicated coordinating emergency relief can be.
Full of quotes and informative boxes, this is a book which will help readers of all ages to get a true sense of what happened to New Orleans in the summer of 2005 and what it was like to be there during the many difficult months that followed.
This is one of the titles in the "Snapshots in History" series.
