A Place Where Hurricanes Happen

by Renée Watson, Shadra Stickland (Illustrations)

New Orleans is known as a place where hurricanes happen . . . but that’s just one side of the story.
 
Children of New Orleans tell about their experiences of Hurricane Katrina through poignant and straightforward free verse in this fictional account of the storm. As natural and man-made disasters become commonplace, we increasingly need books like this one to help children contextualize and discuss difficult and often tragic events.

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Poetry, African American, Realistic Fiction

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Renée Watson is the author of the children’s picture book, A Place Where Hurricanes Happen (Random House, June 2010), which was featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Her middle grade novel, What Momma Left Me debuted as the New Voice for 2010 in middle grade fiction by The Independent Children's Booksellers Association.

Renée’s one woman show, Roses are Red, Women are Blue, debuted at New York City's Lincoln Center at a showcase for emerging artists. Her poetry and articles have been published in Rethinking Schools, Theatre of the Mind and With Hearts Ablaze.

When Renée is not writing and performing, she is teaching. Renée has worked in public schools and community organizations as an artist in residence for several years, teaching poetry, fiction, and theater in Oregon, Louisiana, and New York City. She also facilitates professional development workshops for teachers and artists.

One of Renée’s passions is using the arts to help youth cope with trauma. She has facilitated poetry and theatre workshops with young girls coping with sexual and physical abuse, children who have witnessed violence, children coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and children who relocated to New York City after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Renée graduated from The New School, where she studied Creative Writing and earned a certificate in Drama Therapy.

Renée currently lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Linda Lipko · Rating 4 out of 5]

his is a book regarding four close friends and the impact of Hurricane Katrina had on their lives and those in the neighborhood.

The facts regarding the hurricane were portrayed in a way that does not scare the reader, but does outline the way in which this major event forever impacted those who went through it.

There are stories of those who were able to leave, and then those who stayed.

There were references of lives lost, and numbers and writing on the houses of those who didn't make it through. And, also a sense of strength of those who made it through and are willing to rebuild.

[Donalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This free-verse poetry book describes the lives of four neighborhood friends before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. Well-researched and honest, the book ends with a hopeful message about friendship and overcoming adversity.

[Ofilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told from 4 different kids’ points of view, this poetry book relays the experience of Katrina from each child. At first, they are friends playing in their neighborhood doing what kids do. Then the warnings of the storm, some of them try to leave, others stay and then the storm hits and the aftermath. The kids each have a different experience and their observations are very sincere, “Tommy’s family packed up and left. And Adrienne is leaving too. I give her the picture I drew yesterday. Guess we’re not playing together tomorrow.” The poems don’t explore the darker parts of the story, but that is true to the kid point of view considering that these kids did not experience any of that. It also focuses on the positives after everyone came back and the bookended refrain of “We’re from New Orleans, a place where hurricanes happen. But that’s only the bad side.” The illustrations are realistic and the watercolors keep the images from becoming too detailed, but are very appropriate considering the story. The picture of the traffice with the clouds/water moving in is ominous and the picture of Michael and his little sister Jasmine seeking shelter in the attic is also moving. What stands out is the message of survival and the friendships between the kids.

[Lu Benke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because I read this book as an e-book it was hard to get a sense of how the book would work as a picture book. I wanted to take the very engaging illustrations and resize and reposition them over the text on the page to make it more about the interplay between the illustrations and the text. However, the voices of the characters were spot-on placing me on that block in the Ninth Ward. "Don't know why he wants to save this house. It's raggedy." Yes, the families and children portrayed are in poverty. And, yes, after the hurricane it wasn't easy, but, ultimately, the children find ways to make life good again, exhibiting resiliency and a spirit of pride about living in New Orleans. A good example of what I am looking for, although I think I will get the hardcopy as well. I can imagine kids both being engrossed in the storyline as well as being in awe of the ability of the characters to manage in the disaster.

[Charly Carbray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Place Where Hurricanes Happen was my favorite book that I found for my text set. Taking place right in Louisiana, this story is told by four different children, who used to play together everyday until the storm separated them. I loved the artwork in this story, and Renee Watson even includes illustrations of the major flooding that I had to go to google in order to even fathom. This story does a great job of keeping illustrations lighter than the words so that in the end, a positive story is told. What I really liked about this book was the fact that we actually got to see part of the community come back together and enjoy each other, even though their neighborhoods still needed lots of restoration. This was one element missing from the Ninth Ward. I might ask my students to do a mock letter as a writing assignment, like Keisha wrote so that they can really imagine what it would feel like to lose their best friend during a time they wanted them there most.

[Dione Basseri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could rate this higher, since it does cover a rather sensitive subject, but the entire thing was just...very drawn-out, to me. Watson looks at four different kids and how they deal with Hurricane Katrina, and that large focus means we have to jump around a lot, and stay stuck at certain times in the story, so the other characters can catch up.

It's been eleven years since Katrina, and even when this book was published in 2010, it was largely out of the social consciousness. I brought up Katrina in a lesson to my school kids and they didn't know what I was talking about. A book like this might be more relevant in another few decades, when the Katrina generation becomes parents and grandparents, but as is, it's not that interesting a book,

Try this from your local library, if you must, but definitely don't buy until you're sure your kids enjoy it.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Place Where Hurricanes Happen is fantastic story of how Katrina uprooted communities in New Orleans and about the optimistic, yet painful, path to rebuilding those communities displaced by the storm. Watson tells her story using the voice of several children growing up in New Orleans. These voices provide different perspectives of life before, during, and after the storm. While one child describes the Super Dome, another describes leaving the city. Watson's work is a fantastic tool for teaching about perspective and narrative voice as the text is narrated from multiple perspectives. The story ends on a heartwarming and optimistic note, describing both the communities sense of loss as well as their effort to rebuild and remember.

[Becky Birtha · Rating 3 out of 5]

In addition to providing a glimpse into the experience of historical Hurricane Katrina, through first person poems about four fictional friends who live through it, I think A Place Where Hurricanes Happen would be helpful to any child who is worried about hurricanes and other natural disasters. Illustrations by Shadra Strickland don't shirk at portraying flooding, waiting lines to leave the Superdome, and destroyed buildings, but I was confused by the tidy neighborhood shown "a year later" on the book's last pages, which looks untouched. The ultimate message is that people do survive disasters.

[Bailey Scales · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first picked up the book, I thought it would be just about coastal areas but this book mainly focused on New Orleans and points of view from four children who live in New Orleans. They talk about their culture as well as about the effects of Hurricane Katrina. This book was impacting to me because I never considered how children would handle the affair and the impact it had on them. This book also brought New Orleans to life with it's Cajun food and culture as well. This book would be re3ad to third graders. After reading the book, I would segway into a lesson about Hurricane Katrina, hurricanes in general, and other natural disasters.

[Gianna Petrillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. 2nd-5th grade
2. This book is about a group of friends who live in New Orleans. This town has been known for hurricanes and this story follows just that. It shows how the hurricane in New Orleans affect four friends differently.
3. I think students would like reading this book, mainly for the different point of views and changing of narrator. This book does a great job of keeping the reader engage in a different topic while making it not too serious. This book also does a great job of showing the strength of community in difficult situations.
4. I would only use this book for independent fun reading, and put it on my bookshelf.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book came highly recommended by a customer. I expected to like it a lot more than I did. While it was an interesting view of what it was like for kids pre-and-post-Katrina in New Orleans, I found the book to be disjointed and missing elements that would have made it easier for me to follow. I like that it explained the loss of life in a way that allows children to process it at their own pace. And, yes, I did tear up a little at one point. Still, I don't think I'll add it to my recommended reading list. It just didn't resonate with me from a literary point of view.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. The book is in verse, narrated by four different kids living in 2005 New Orleans. The book starts showing their pre-Katrina lives, shows the impact of Katrina on them, and then reunites the four a year later.

One family goes to Houston, one to Baton Rouge, and the other two stay in New Orleans. One of those families is rescued from their attic; one is at the Superdome.

The book didn't shy away from the storm's physical and emotional impacts, though the "one year later" ending felt a bit optimistic.

[Liz Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Renée Watson is one of my favorite writers and I soak up all her words with gusto. This story tells of four friends before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. It's told by four voices/best friends. An important book for children of all ages. The man made disaster that was Hurricane Katrina can't leave our consciousness and children need to know what happened, how and why. This is a relatively gentle introduction that can be used in a myriad of ways in an elementary classroom. A must for all classroom libraries.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't like this book, but Melanie pulled it off the shelf and it is here for a while. I don't read it to her because it is too above her, so I make up another story to go with the pictures.
The 2 star review is not because of the age range, but because this book feels like it is trying too hard to be educational.

[Georgette Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I randomly picked this up at the library. My daughter had asked done questions about hurricanes recently. I thought this would be a nice look at hurricanes through the eyes of children. I was not disappointed! This is a heart felt look at the strength of the people of New Orleans. I'm not ashamed to say this book made me cry. Wonderful pictures! Great stories of from different perspectives!

[Kate Hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Adrienne, Keesha, Michael and Tommy. All survivors of hurricane Katrina. They each talk about what New Orleans was like before the storm and how their families reacted to the storm. Many things changed, but not their friendship. Very moving. Grades 3-6.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have thought that there was more than enough books out about Hurricane Katrina, but I would be wrong.

This is a fabulous story told from kids' points of view about life before and after Katrina.

A beautiful story with great illustrations.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book told by the point of view of 4 kids from New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina. i used this book for a 4th grade Natural Disasters unit. Kids can write a literature response letter to one of the authors.

[Dolores · Rating 4 out of 5]

In free-verse and alternating points of view, this tells of New Orleans before, during and after Katrina. There is a quiet sense of reassurance here, a sense that friends and family will always be there, no matter what. Beautifully done.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of a group of friends who all lived on one street pre-Katrina. It showed how they each dealt with the approaching storm, the immediate aftermath, and the longer term.

It's all told from the kids' various viewpoints.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A children’s book with a bit more text than usual and realistic art work showing the impact of Hurricane Katrina on a community. A powerful witness for children as they continue to navigate this tragedy.

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful children's picture book about Hurricane Katrina told through the eyes of several children in a neighborhood in New Orleans.

This would serve as a beautiful introduction to natural disasters, or how disasters affect people and society.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children's picture book. Wordy. A lot longer than your standard picture book. But done really well. This is Katrina told from the point-of-view of kids who lived there. It's got some before, during and after. It pulls a few punches but it also tells a pretty scary story. Well done.

[Shannon Kitchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such great illustrations and a wonderful way to share the experience of Katrina through the eyes of children.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very beautiful and moving. Highly recommended.

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy addition to the canon of Katrina literature.

[Lauren White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for all grades.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

heartfelt w/wonderful illustrations

[Laresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

About a family living in New Orleans during Katrina .. Good book

[Ashley Burnam]

a book that has a diverse group of students. set in new orleans it tells about hurricane katrina but also the positive cultures of the city.