Eight Dolphins of Katrina: A True Tale of Survival

by Janet Wyman Coleman, Yan Nascimbene (Illustrator)

Overview

This "heartening, real-life rescue story"* will grip young readers.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina crashed a forty-foot tidal wave over the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, Mississippi.

The dolphin house was demolished, and its inhabitants swept from their tank into the Gulf of Mexico. After growing up in captivity, how could the eight bottlenose dolphins feed and protect themselves in the wild? And if they could survive, would their trainers ever see them again?

This fascinating picture book—enriched with both beautiful color-wash illustrations and photographs taken by the trainers themselves—tells this dramatic, happy-ending story.

"Animal lovers will empathize as they follow the trainers' worries and ultimate elation." —School Library Journal*

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544932616
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/01/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	629,204
Product dimensions:	10.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	710L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Janet is a talented nonfiction children's author. Her book, Secrets, Lies, Gizmos, and Spies: A History of Spies and Espionage (Abrams, 2006), was a 2007 ALA Best Books for Young Adults nominee, recipient of the National Parenting Publications 2006 gold award, and Scholastic book fairs took about 60,000 copies of the book. Her other recent non-fiction titles include Baseball for Everyone: Stories from the Great Game (Abrams, 2003), a Publishers Weekly Best Non-fiction Books of 2003 selection, and Famous Bears and Friends (Dutton, 2002). She is the proud mother of two grown sons and lives in Wayland, Massachusetts.

Half-French, half-Italian, the late Yan Nascimbeneshared his childhood between these two countries. After working as a photographer's assistant in a Paris fashion studio, Nascimbene studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York and at the University of California at Davis. Nascimbene's illustrations have appeared in numerous publications worldwide, including Time, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal,Chicago Tribune, the New Yorker, Boston Globe, Toronto Life, ScientificAmerican, Atlantic Monthly, Hemispheres, etc. His commercial clients include Air France, British Airways, Continental Airlines, IBM, Apple, Macy's, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Bank of America, United Way, Estée Lauder, Manpower, and more.     Nascimbene also illustrated Houghton's Hachiko by Pamela Turner and The Beautiful Christmas Tree by Charlotte Zolotow

Editorial Reviews

"Heartwarming and informative." — Booklist

"Laced with dialogue that accentuates the trainers' affection for the dolphins and sense of urgency, Coleman's clipped narrative recounts the rescue of all eight. The dappled watercolors have a lovely silk-screened quality, contrasting the destructive force of the hurricane and the tranquility that arrives in its wake." — Publishers Weekly

"Animal lovers will empathize as they follow the trainers' worries and ultimate elation. A heartening, real-life rescue story." — School Library Journal

"A spark of hope in the wake of a devastating natural disaster." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

The extraordinary story of how the dolphins—who had never had to feed themselves—survived and were rescued from the Gulf of Mexico…is little short of miraculous, and as told by Janet Wyman Coleman, includes recreated dialogue and a palpable sense of suspense. Yan Nascimbene's wonderful watercolors convey first the chaos of the Oceanarium on the night the staff is preparing for the hurricane, the drama of Katrina's landing…and then the serene beauty of the gulf waters after the storm.

The New York Times - Sarah Harrison Smith

This story of the rescue of eight dolphins off the coast of Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina underscores the bonds between dolphins and their trainers, as well as those among dolphins themselves. After a 40-foot tidal wave destroys the dolphin pool at the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, eight dolphins disappear, presumably washed into the Gulf of Mexico. Via helicopter and boat, the trainers set out to search for the dolphins, who were raised in captivity and thus unaccustomed to feeding or protecting themselves. Laced with dialogue that accentuates the trainers’ affection for the dolphins and sense of urgency, Coleman’s (Secrets, Lies, Gizmos, and Spies) clipped narrative recounts the rescue of all eight, who had remained together, close to shore. Spare yet theatric, the late Nascimbene’s (Crouching Tiger) dappled watercolors have a lovely silk-screened quality, contrasting the destructive force of the hurricane and the tranquility that arrives in its wake. The recounting of events is quite brief; the book’s second half consists of illustrated notes on other real-life dolphin feats and a scrapbook-style section of captioned photos about the dolphins and their rescue. Ages 6–9. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 2–5—This account of the loss and rescue of eight dolphins from a destroyed tank at the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, Mississippi, during Hurricane Katrina will intrigue readers. The animals were brought up in captivity and were unable to feed themselves in the wild, so the frantic trainers secured a helicopter and boat in the chaotic aftermath of the storm and locate the missing animals. Then after more days of training and preparation, the dolphins were recaptured from the open water and taken to their new pool. Following the lead story are four brief examples of dolphins saving people or other animals from certain death. The lovely impressionistic watercolor and ink illustrations are crisp against generous white borders, effectively capturing the frenzied storm preparations and recapture. Rounding out the book is a photographic look at the actual oceanarium, the animals, their rescue, and the aftereffects of the hurricane. Animal lovers will empathize as they follow the trainers' worries and ultimate elation. A heartening, real-life rescue story.—Carol S. Surges, formerly at Longfellow Middle School, Wauwatosa, WI

School Library Journal

A spark of hope in the wake of a devastating natural disaster. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina sent a 40-foot tidal wave crashing over the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, Miss. Most of the animals were relocated before the storm, but eight dolphins were left in a large pool believed to be safe. Unfortunately, when the trainers returned, they found the pool destroyed and the dolphins gone. The waves had pulled the creatures out into the nearby Gulf of Mexico. The dolphins were not used to caring for themselves after living in captivity, so a search party was arranged. Miraculously, all eight dolphins were found--waiting together for their trainers. This survival tale is heartwarming but brief. Halfway through, under the heading "More About Man's Best Friend," the tone switches to discuss other astonishing dolphin feats throughout history. Nascimbene's full-page watercolors--of equally watery images--accompany both sections. The illustrations lack the realistic immediacy and emotional wallop of photographs but are age-appropriate for the text, which focuses solely on the dolphins. The surrounding human suffering from the storm is hinted at but never described. A scrapbook of photos and facts about the Oceanarium tale is appended. During a time of so much destruction, these eight dolphins became a symbol--they banded together and found their way home, just like the human residents of the Gulf Coast. (sources) (Informational picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews