Hurricane Song is tale of Katrina and Superdome

• By GREG LANGLEY
• Books editor
• Published: Jun 22, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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As Aug. 29 approaches, expect to see more and more Katrina-themed books appearing. One that just came out is unusual in that it is a YA (young adult) novel that targets a teenage audience.

Hurricane Song (Viking, $15.99) by Paul Volponi is small book (136 pp.) but has a big message. The story is told in the voice of Miles Shaw, a young Chicago boy whose parents are divorced. His father lives in New Orleans, and when his mother remarries, Miles (named for jazz musician Miles Davis) decides to go live with his musician father “Doc,” a trumpet player. He and his father have a shaky relationship. Doc is good at music and Miles is good at football, but with each other, it’s all sour notes and fumbles. They don’t communicate well.

Then Hurricane Katrina hits and the father and son, along with Uncle Roy, try to evacuate. But it’s too late. The car breaks down and they head to the nearest shelter — the Superdome.

Inside, they find things are pretty bad. They huddle together and try to ignore the shouts, screams and roving gangs around them. The power goes off. The heat goes up. Miles and his father and uncle feel like they’re in a steam bath. It’s hard to breathe, but Miles manages to fall asleep draped across the uncomfortable seats.

“Somebody screamed and my eyes shot open. Only it was still pitch black, and I couldn’t see a thing. The air was so thick it almost smothered me …”

While some of the stories that came out of the Superdome ordeal were later proven to be only rumor, some were not. One man leaped to his death from an upper tier of seats. Volponi incorporates that event and other real happenings into his plot. The worst thing about the Superdome ordeal wasn’t the heat. It was the failure of the plumbing. Volponi’s characters use frank language and slang scatological terms to describe the situation. This book is not for the pre-teen reader, but as with any book, parents should make their own judgment about its suitability for their child. Don’t rely on teachers, librarians or book reviewers.

That said, it’s a pretty good tale that shows how some families endured the Katrina hardships and came out stronger than before. Like most of the people in the Superdome, Miles and his family are black. Volponi is sensitive in his treatment of racial issues, and he seems to get the facts straight. But let’s hope there isn’t a sequel.

At EBR Libraries
Face painting demystified: Teens are invited to a creative face painting workshop at several libraries this June. Melanie and Melissa Babin will demonstrate various techniques on how to create simple and complicated designs. They will discuss how they learned creative face painting and how they have been able to market their art.

The Babin sisters are both in the eighth grade and have been painting for more than six years. They specialize in face and body painting and have painted faces at various festivals and events including Live After 5 and Oktoberfest. They will appear at:

• Zachary Branch, 1900 Church St., 10 a.m. Monday, June 23
• Central Branch, 11260 Joor Road, 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 24
• Bluebonnet Regional Branch, 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd., 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 25

To register or for more information, call the individual library.

Goats and kids: Have you ever considered owning a goat? Children ages 4 and up will learn more about goats at the Baker Branch, 3501 Groom Road, at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 28. Ken Johnston will bring along his own pygmy goat for this introductory class.
For more information and to register, call (225) 778-5960.

Databases available
The State Library of Louisi-ana has announced the addition of three databases to its database collection. “For Students Online, Scribner Writers Series” and “Twayne’s Authors” are geared toward literary research and are especially useful for secondary students as well as the general public.

The database can be accessed at: http://lalibcon.state.lib.la.us/.

“For Students Online” is a comprehensive literary reference collection. The easy-to-understand critical essays were chosen specifically for stu-dents, and each part of the en-try is designed to support for-mal students and teachers of literature as well as individual readers and book clubs.