The Big Flood

School Library Journal

Gr 1-4-A picture book about the Midwestern flood of 1993 and one girl's experiences throughout the ordeal. The story opens with young Patti Brandon's life revolving around her farm, family, friends, and softball. Things are interrupted by the heavy rains and it soon becomes apparent that everyone will have to pitch in to keep the Mississippi River from ruining the fields. Patti is shown calling for help over her ham radio. She joins her neighbors as they stack sandbags at the water's edge. She gets her pet goat out of harm's way. She calls for a helicopter to come and save a man caught in the river. Although everyone works hard, the flood does much damage. When the water subsides and Patti returns to her bed, she discovers fish and worms under her blankets. Weeks later, her life has returned to normal, and she has a new respect for the mighty river. This realistic story is softened by the finely drawn pastel illustrations. The text is formatted like poetry, but the words are pure prose. An appended fact sheet reveals the damage of the flood-around $17 billion. Although this is classified as nonfiction, there is no indication of whether Patti is a real person. Still, the story pairs up nicely with Bruce Hiscock's The Big Rivers (Atheneum, 1997), which is also about the flood of 1993. Pfeffer capably shows how disasters can sometimes bring out the community spirit in people.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.