Another Kind of Hurricane

Another Kind of Hurricane by Tamara Ellis Smith

I used this book as an "anchor" text for our study of Hurricane Irene and its impact on our community. It's

about two boys. One, Henry, is from Vermont, and he is struggling in the wake of his best friend Wayne's death on Mount Mansfield. His grief eventually leads him to New Orleans, where he meets Zavion, who is struggling emotionally and physically in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Students LOVED this book. What I appreciated about it as a teacher is that while it is fairly "easy" in terms of its lexile, it is rich with meaning. It provided lots of opportunities to talk about symbolism and metaphors, to really dig past the plot of the book into its deeper meaning.