A Storm Called Katrina

A Storm Called Katrina

Picture book
"'HURRICANE'S COMING, Baby,' Mama said.
'I'm not a baby anymore, Mama. I turned ten last month.'
'Doesn't matter how old you are, Louis Daniel. You'll always be
my baby,' she said. 'Hush now and go to bed.'"
The mother in the picture tilts her son's head up toward her.
Rain can be seen splattering the window behind them. A bedside lamp
casts a golden halo but otherwise fails to dispell the dark.
The next day the storm is a lot worse. A tree has been blown
down. Rain drops are larger than quarters and the wind slams the
house. It's after the storm stops, however, that the biggest danger
asserts itself.
Myron Uhlberg's A Storm Called Katrina, candidly illustrated by
Colin Bootman, creates a fictitious family to bring to life the
experiences of many families slammed by Hurricane Katrina. Fleeing
rising water, they drift through the flood on a broken off piece of
someone's porch. A bundle of clothes is what you think it is. Louis
looks even though his mom tells him not to.
Louis and his parents end up in the storm damaged, dangerously
crowded Superdome. Food and water get scarce. Then Louis and his mom
get separated from his dad. How will they ever find him?
Olivia and I found ourselves caught up in the lost dog with a
red ball subplot. If you want to know what that is, you'll have to
read the book and see.
On a personal note, the past two weeks we have had amazing after
supper discussions at Wilson Center. The first was about sexual
violence and how faith traditions can help combat it. The second was
about environmentalism and faith traditions. We have only one more
Wednesday night dinner since the semester is almost over. Sigh.
We'll also participate in an interfaith coastal clean up tomorrow.
A great big shout out goes out to my Wilson Center family whom I will
greatly miss over the summer.
jules hathaway


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