Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown - ESSENTIAL

Brown, Don  Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, 93 pgs.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.  $18.99  GRAPHIC NOVEL  Content: PG-13.   

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, those who couldn’t leave the city were trapped in a horrible situation.  There wasn’t enough government aid quick enough and people were searching for relief.  There was looting and fighting for the supplies that were left behind and it took the city a long time to get the help they need.  Don Brown succinctly tells the horrors of the hurricane with facts and drawings that convey the emotions and horrors felt by the people trapped in New Orleans.  This is a sad and dark story with some pictures depicting people who drowned, it’s not gory or detailed, but it is scary and sad making it PG-13.  The illustrations give the facts more feeling and this is a great way to present this natural disaster and discuss the lessons that need to be learned from it.  The format might reach some readers that strictly informative text wouldn’t.    

 MS, HS-ESSENTIAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.