Displaying 1 of 1 2022 Format: Book Author: Price, Kathy (Kathy Z.), 1957- author. Title: Mardi Gras almost didn't come this year / written by Kathy Z. Price ; illustrated by Carl Joe Williams. Edition: First edition. Publisher, Date: New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, [2022] Description: 48 unnumbered pages : color illustrations ; 23 x 32 cm. Summary: Lala, Babyboy, and their parents struggle to cope with the loss of their home to Hurricane Katrina, but find joy again in the celebration of Mardi Gras. Includes facts about Hurricane Katrina and glossary. Target Audience Note: Ages 4-8. Subjects: Loss (Psychology) -- Juvenile fiction. Families -- Louisiana -- Juvenile fiction. Hurricane Katrina, 2005 -- Juvenile fiction. Carnival -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- Juvenile fiction. Carnival -- Juvenile fiction. Mardi Gras -- Juvenile fiction. Loss (Psychology) -- Fiction. Family life -- Louisiana -- Fiction. Hurricane Katrina, 2005 -- Fiction. Mardi Gras -- Fiction. Carnival -- Fiction. Louisiana -- Juvenile fiction. Louisiana -- Fiction. Genre: Picture books for children. Picture books. Other Contributor: Williams, Carl Joe, illustrator. Other Title: Mardi Gras almost did not come this year LCCN: 2018046686 ISBN: 9781534444256 (hardcover) 1534444254 (hardcover) OCLC: 1060180374 System Availability: 1 # System items in: 1 # Local items: 1 # Local items in: 1 Current Holds: 0 Place Request Add to My List Expand All | Collapse All Availability Large Cover Image Trade Reviews Publishers Weekly ReviewPrice (The Bourbon Street Musicians) sensitively explores the lasting impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans through a view of one Black Louisiana family. Residing in "Aunt Henny Peck's old shotgun house" since their home was damaged in Katrina's storm and flood, siblings Lala and Babyboy long for "a thousand beignets, sweet bakes, King Cakes." But though "it's Mardi Gras weather," they fear that the holiday is "not coming, ever." Disappointed when their mother, once "the most fancy-dancy of the ball," doesn't embrace the season, Lala and Babyboy revisit their devastated neighborhood and cry at "the smell of rotting water; houses that once stood proud, bowed under decaying wood or disappeared." When Lala decides to resurrect Mardi Gras for her brother, their parents join in, and revelry returns to Bourbon Street and St. Charles Avenue in an act of familial and communal resilience that focuses on rebuilding. Mixed-media illustrations by artist Williams, making his debut, give overlapping meanings to the characters' conflicting emotions--sorrow and celebration, frustration and hope--in layered, saturated backdrops that commemorate the reality and festivity of life in the Big Easy. Back matter includes a highly useful glossary of terms for readers unfamiliar with the intricacies of Mardi Gras. Ages 4--8. (Feb.) Librarian's View Displaying 1 of 1