Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Ninth Ward was written by Jewell Parker Rhodes after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, and many other areas. Lanesha is a twelve-year-old girl living with her caretaker, Mama Ya-Ya, in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. Hurricane Katrina arrives and Lanesha must do whatever she can to survive this storm and resulting flood.

   Jewell Parker Rhodes appears to have written this book with education in mind. Spread throughout the book are vocabulary words (and their meanings), math terms, and various "how-things-are done." While she has done a great job on the educational aspect of the book, the story fell a little short. It felt a little underdeveloped and might not be the best book for grabbing students' attention. 

   Ninth Ward combines historical fiction with some fantasy. Lanesha can see ghosts and there are other dealings with the supernatural. However, the main focus of this book is the historical aspect surrounding Hurricane Katrina. Ninth Ward could also be considered multicultural. 

For Teachers: 

   The ideal age group for Ninth Ward would be Fourth through Sixth grade. Some advance Third graders would be able to read this book, and it can even be extended into a Seventh grade classroom if necessary. Some activities to use with this book would include: 

• History part 1: Delve into Hurricane Katrina and other devastating hurricanes of the past. What are some of the similarities between the locations that were most devastated? What are some of the differences? 

• History part 2: Look into pictures and videos from Hurricane Katrina. Have students discuss photos from the Ninth Ward and other locations. 

• Weather: What is the difference between a Category One and a Category Five hurricane? Discuss and research hurricanes. Have students either write an essay or create a poster based on their hurricane research. 

• Vocabulary word suggestions: synopses, tragedy, star-crossed, symbols, fortitude, exasperated, engineer, hurricane, suspension bridge, unfathomable, anxious, mandatory, evacuation, conflicted, loitering, omen, devastating, vacuum, eerie, angelic, perpendicular. 

• Discussion: Why is Lanesha treated like an outsider? Is Mama Ya-Ya Lanesha's real grandmother? Why don't Mama Ya-Ya and Lanesha leave? Why don't some of their neighbors leave? 

My Thoughts: 

   My personal opinion of the book is that I did not like it. While it had some educational aspects, they seemed to overpower the underdeveloped story. Lanesha wasn't a believable character and some of the other characters felt a little to "convenient" to when they would show up. Not a book I would recommend to just sit down and read, but if you are teaching about hurricanes or Katrina in particular, then this may be a good book to help supplement that teaching. 

Additional Resources: 

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. This is a documentary from 2006 directed by Spike Lee. It might be a good video to show students so they could better visualize what happened. 

Before and After. This link shows some before and after pictures of Katrina's affect on New Orleans. 

Hurricane Katrina. CNN's comprehensive site dedicated to the hurricane and its aftermath. 

Reference: 

Rhodes, J. P. (2010). Ninth Ward. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.