Drowned City

by Don Brown

Image © Don Brown

I L L U S T R A T O R discussion

image © Don Brown

Art + Words

There's no underestimating the power of art to represent words and present the human condition in an instant. The power of graphic novels and the influence they have on today's readers is profound and growing. Kids have been raised on the merging of art and design and text now, and this is their landscape. Their preferred communication.

In Drown City, Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans by Don Brown, you can see the power of art to actually pull the very brutal part of this horrific incident out of the words of story for readers. Here, the book shares the fact that many people made it out of this catastrophe, while many did not. The image of the man floating, face-down underwater represents the countless lives lost.

What other images stand out to you in this book?

There's an image of a dog, left on his own. Alone. Surrounded by water, he waits for no one who cares enough to save him. Hurricane Katrina forced us to look at the family that is our pets and acknowledge that their lives matter. This lead to changes in laws that allow for rescue workers to find and save our pets. That's huge.

Do images impact us more emotionally as readers?

Jury may still be out on this, but it's important to see the power of art. Images provide a pause, a still life pause in a humanitarian moment. It's a piece of art that shares the magnitude of the challenges, and in this type of situation, art is an ideal vehicle of communication. It's easy to type out that there were 25 ft waves smashing, crashing, bashing into 3- to 6-foot human beings and buildings, but to see that in an image? That's much, much more powerful. The viewer instantly realizes what it may have been like having the entire contents of an Olympic-size pool being poured over you at a force of a blizzard knocks a person's breath out and into the next city.

Can you think of ways art can be more powerful than words?

C O N N E C T O R Discussion - T E X T to Society

A compare-contrast study to other crisis situations

Current Texas Water & Energy Crisis, February 2021

image © TDB

Texas Energy Crisis

D I S C U S S I O N

How do people identify and act fast in crisis?

Likened to Hurricane Katrina, the recent freeze and massive snowfall in Texas is being seen as more of a crisis that originally thought. The Covid-19 crisis might be a compare-contrast study as well.

How is this novel a great study of how action mimics the unfolding story?

In Drown City, Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans by Don Brown, the author-illustrator did a great job with showing just how intense and swift a crisis can feel. He begins with the inciting incident and just relentlessly pitches the reader through all of the trauma faced by thousands of people. He also did a great job os haring the very raw and real situation faced here: death, destruction, lack of food and water and shelter, and lack of urgent action on the part of government officials. The situation likens itself to how swiftly we had to work as a nation during the Covid crisis.

What are the major conflicts that flew at the reader at page-over-page speeds?

When the hurricane hit, why did people refused to leave?

For those who decided to leave, did official use all their resources available to them to help people get out fast?

Many people and pets were trapped in their homes; how did this event change how we will view pets in future disasters?

D I S C U S S I O N connector: T E X T to Text

image © ILLEGAL illustrator

Immigration: ILLEGAL

by Eion Colfer, Andrew Donkin, and Giovanni Rigano

D I S C U S S I O N

How do did the main character in this story immigrate and how was he and his family received?

Consider the question posed by Kirkus' star review: "Ebo is known across his village for his beautiful singing voice, but will his voice keep him safe in his journey to the shores of Europe?"

What would you do to secure money to reach the goal to travel to another land?

Ebo must cross the Sahara desert, raise funds in order to cross the Mediterranean sea, and stay clear of authorities trying to deport refugees. This could not have been easy for any kid, but tell us what you would do to survive?

The DROWNED CITY author-illustrator uses a wide lens and broad brush to share the story of Hurricane Katrina, but ILLEGAL steps into the body of a small child and shares the story from his point of view.

How does the story's narration impact the way a story is told?

Which approach is better and what would you do if you were to share a story like this as a graphic novel?

D I S C U S S I O N connector: T E X T to Self

Drowing Incident

What does it feel like to be caught in a water catastrophe?

Shopiere dam will remind me, always, of what it is like to drown. Right where you see kids swimming and climbing, there's a small cave beneath the falls. It was not easy to get inside, but I was a strong swimmer and often swam a half-mile fly before school during my high school years. We did not come here often, but happened to bring our whole swim team to enjoy fishing and swimming and picnicking. I happen to try to get through the unbelievable force of the water to enter the cave, like I would any time I visited, but on this day, I felt a suction and found myself in a lower cavity spinning in summersaults like I was caught in some kind of undertow. At first, I panicked and was trying desperately, frantically, to escape the water's pull. But I could not. I remember wondering if anyone could see I was struggling. It felt weird to be in crisis with all my friends so close by. I remember thinking that's it's been a while since my last breath, but then there was this overall feeling of peace and no longer a need to breathe. It was as if all my air went into my thoughts and I felt at peace. Right then, I relaxed, and I popped out--was spit out--of the situation. So relieved, I never did try to get into that cave after that day. And, unbelievably, the cave actually collapsed a few months later and is no longer. I just relate to the horrendous amount of pressure that running water causes as well as that feeling of being caught, perhaps, unable to survive. I suspect that many felt similiar on this day when Hurricane Katrina hit.

D I S C U S S I O N leader

New Award-winning Literature

What was amazing to me in reading ALL THIRTEEN, The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat was her incredible dedication to sharing an "experience" with readers. In professional writing, we often talk about connecting to the reader, but Christina took this to the ultimate. She shared the science behind the scenes and really helped the reader understand what both the boys caught inside the cave faced as well as the rescue workers outside trying to rescue the boys. She covered great STEM connections: hypothermia, tectonic plates, Carbon build-up, Cave structures, oxygen deprivation, and precipitation. This really helped the reader understand the situation and stakes in making big decisions and weighing the risks involved in rescuing all thirteen Thai soccer players.

D I S C U S S I O N

How did the Thai soccer team get into trouble?

What did the team do to stay calm for the many days they were trapped inside the cave?

How did the coach help them maintain a positive attitude?

How did the first rescue divers reach them?

Why was it important to reach out and find only the best cave divers to help the boys out?

How did the team communicate with their parents once they were located?

C O N N E C T O R to Discussions to Writer's Craft

Webinar on Creating Graphic Novels

Webinar & Event Tie Ins

As the founder of Kid Lit College, we hosted events on Diversity, Poetry, Writing Middle Grade Novels, Crafting Series, Writing Nonfiction, Graphic Novel Creation, as well as nonfiction classes. Here's a sample of some of our events that hosted discussions for books like these.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse