Booklist for Children Affected by Hurricane Katrina

Compiled by Gale K. Criswell
Children and Teen Services Consultant, State Library of Louisiana

September 2005

The following books may be helpful for children who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina. The books may be used by parents or other caregivers to present difficult issues in the context of stories. Some non-fiction titles are also included. The majority of titles are intended for children age two through age eight. A booklist for older children is included at the end.

ADAPTING TO CHANGE, MOVING, NEW SCHOOL
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Amelia's Road by Linda Jacobs Altman
Blue Horse by Helen Stephens
Boomer's Big Day by Constance McGeorge
Brooklyn, Bugsy and Me by Lynea Bowdish
The Color of Home by Mary Hoffman
Coming On Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson
Danitra Brown Leaves Town by Nikkie Grines
Don't Say Ain't by Irene Smalls
Getting Used to Harry by Cari Best
Goodbye House by Frank Asch
Hannah is My Name by Belle Yang
Hot City by Barbara Joose
I Am Too Absolutely Small for School by Lauren Child
Jorah's Journal by Judith Caseley
Just One More Story by Jennifer Brutschy
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
The Leaving Morning by Angela Johnson
The Lost and Found House by Michael Cadnum
My Best Friend Moved Away by Nancy Carlson
Our Gracie Aunt by Jacqueline Woodson
The Ticky-Tacky Doll by Cynthia Rylant

COMFORT, REASSURANCE, LOVE
Aunt Flossie's Hat (and Crab Cakes Later) by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Faraway Drums by Virginia Kroll
The Fell Good Book by Todd Parr
From Miss Ida's Porch by Sandra Lee Belton
Front Porch Stories at the One-Room School by Eleanora E. Tate
Genie in the Jar by Nikki Giovanni
Golden Bear by Ruth Young
Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
How About a Hug? by Nancy Carlson
If You Listen by Charlotte Zolotow
Just the Two of Us by Will Smith
Momma, Where Are You From? by Marie Bradby
Oh My Baby, Little One by Kathi Apelt
Old Bear by Jane Hissey
On Mother's Lap by Ann Herbert Scott Illustrated by Geo Coatson
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
A Safe Place Called Home by Eileen Spinelli
Sing-Along Song by JoAnn Early Macken
Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang
This Place I Know edited by Georgia Heard
Tickle, Tickle by Dakari Hru
We All Sing With The Same Voice by J. Phillip Miller and Sheppard M. Greene
When the Big Dog Barks by Munzee Curtis

COURAGE
Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger. Illustrated by Michael Hays
Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart by Vera B. Williams
Brave, Brave Mouse by Michaela Morgan
Cliff Hanger by Jean Craighead George
Katie's Wish by Barbara Shook Hazen
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie by Peter and Connie Roop
Mandy by Barbara D. Booth
Moon's Cloud Blanket by Rose Anne St. Romain
There's a Big, Beautiful World Out There by Nancy Carlson
Twister by Darleen Beard
Wallace's Lists by Barbara Bottner
The Worry Stone by Sibyl Graber Gerig

FRIENDSHIP
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
Will You Be My Friend? by Nancy Tafuri
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

GRIEF, SADNESS, LOSS
A Castle on Viola Street by Dyanne Disalvo
Tom Rabbit by Martin Waddell Illustrated by Barbara Firth
When I Feel Sad by Cornelia Maude Spelman
Where's My Teddy? by Jez Alborough
Yesterday I Had the Blues by Jeron Ashford Frame

RESILIENCE, PRIDE, HOPE
Ashley Bryan's ABC of African American Poetry by Ashley Bryan
A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
Cherries and Cherry Pits by Vera B. Williams
December by Eve Bunting
The Double Life of Zoe Flynn by Janet Lynn Carey
Goggles by Ezra Jack Keats
Junebug by Alice Mean
May'naise Sandwishes and Sunshine Tea by Sandra Belton
The Moon Came Down on Milk Street by Jean Gralley
On That Day: A book of Hope for Children by Andre Patel
River Friendly, River Wild by Jane Kurtz
Stachmo's Blues by Alan Schroeder
Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children by Sandra L. Pinkney
Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora
Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen by DyAnne Di Salvo-Ryan

DEATH
Everett Anderson's Goodbye by Lucille Clifton
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscagia
The Grandad Tree by Trish Cooke
Grandma's Purple Flowers by Adjoa J. Burrowes
The Hickory Chair by Lisa Rowe Fraustino
If Nathan Were Here by Mary Bahr
The Memory String by Eve Bunting
Sweet, Sweet Memory by Jacqueline Woodson
Up in Heaven by Emma Chicester Clark
When Dinosaurs Die by Laurene Brown
Where is Grandpa? by T. A. Brown

DEATH OF PET
Desser, the Best Ever Cat by Maggie Smith
I'll Always Love You by Hans Wilhelm
The Old Dog by Charlotte Zolotow
Saying Goodbye to Lulu by Corrine Demas
Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst
When a Pet Dies by Fred Rogers

BOOKS FOR OLDER CHILDREN (GRADES FOUR UP)
Getting Through Thursday by Melrose Cooper
The Girl Death Left Behind by Lurlene McDaniel
Leaving Emma by Nancy Steele Brokaw
Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff
Money Hungry by Sharon G. Flake
The Palm of My Heart by Davida Adedjouma
Some of the Pieces by Melissa Madenski
Stars in the Darkness by Barbaba Joosse
Sun and Spoon by Kevin Henkes
The Truth About Sparrow by Marian Hale

BOOKS FOR TEENS
American Libarary Association: YALSA offers recommended reading for teens in light of recent disaster.

ADULT REFERENCES
Making It Better: Activities for Children Living in a Stressful World by Barbara Oehlberg
Mass Trauma and Violence: Helping Families and Children Cope edited by Nancy Boyd Webb
School-Based Multi-Systemic Interventions for Mass Trauma by Avigdor Klingman and Esther Cohen
Young Children and Trauma: Intervention and Treatment by Joy D. Osofsky

RESOURCES
The following resources were consulted in compiling this list:

Helping Books Helping Families Database, State Library of Ohio, can be used as a basis for parents and children to talk together about often difficult and challenging issues.
Bookhive, Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, N.C.
Books of Love, Comfort and Reassurance, Compiled by Motheread and Fatheread VFC Center for the Book Charlottesville Virginia