Sibert Honor Medalist · Kirkus’ Best of 2015 list · School Library Journal Best of 2015 · Publishers Weekly’s Best of 2015 list · Horn Book Fanfare Book · Booklist Editor's Choice On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost their lives. The riveting tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage—and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality.         Don Brown’s kinetic art and as-it-happens narrative capture both the tragedy and triumph of one of the worst natural disasters in American history. A portion of the proceeds from this book has been donated to Habitat for Humanity New Orleans. Gr 7 Up—A murky watercolor storm spreads across pages, darkening and becoming more ominous as it builds in Brown's deeply affecting look at Hurricane Katrina. Dynamic sketches capture shocking scenes, such as residents fleeing down claustrophobic highways as the 400-mile-wide storm looms in a nearly completely dark spread. Brown depicts broken levees, flooded homes, and inhabitants scrabbling to not drown in their attics. A stunningly powerful spread shows water everywhere and two lone people trapped on a roof. The images demonstrate the utter devastation and despair while the at times spare text powerfully reveals the voices of the victims. The many failures of President Bush, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Mayor Ray Nagin, and others are repeatedly noted, as is the heroism of various organizations and ordinary people. Brown walks readers through the ghastly conditions at the Superdome, the horrors of hospitals with no electricity, and the nightmarish reality of dead bodies everywhere. The story becomes grimmer at every turn: ineffectual police and rescue efforts, looting, the lack of housing for rescued victims, and 5,000 missing children. The muted watercolors effectively capture the squalid and treacherous conditions of every inch of New Orleans. The final pages show the rebuilding efforts but note the lasting effects of vastly decreased populations. VERDICT This astonishingly powerful look at one of America's worst disasters is a masterful blend of story and art and a required purchase for all libraries.—Amanda MacGregor, Great River Regional Library, St. Cloud, MN * "An excellent chronicle of the tragedy for a broad audience; children, teens, and adults will all be moved." — Kirkus , starred review *  "Lively, dynamic sketching gives the artwork a sense of urgency and immediacy. It is as important to tell the story of a nation's failures as it is to record its triumphs, and this is a crucial contribution." — Publishers Weekly , starred review * "Emotionally resonant, this outstanding title will appeal to graphic novel and nonfiction readers alike." — Booklist , starred review * "This astonishingly powerful look at one of America's worst disasters is a masterful blend of story and art." — School Library Journal , starred review * "If a book's power were measured like a storm's, this would be category five." — Horn Book Magazine , starred review “This book could almost make its point on the powerful illustrations alone, but Brown’s precise language secures the historical details in an unforgettable way...‘Drowned City’ delivers a brave treatment of important and uncomfortable details.” —The New York Times Book Review   Don Brown is the winner of the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction and the Sibert Honor. He is the author and illustrator of many nonfiction graphic novels for teens and picture book biographies. He has been widely praised for his resonant storytelling and his delicate watercolor paintings that evoke the excitement, humor, pain, and joy of lives lived with passion. School Library Journal has called him “a current pacesetter who has put the finishing touches on the standards for storyographies.” He lives in New York with his family. booksbybrown.com Instagram: @donsart