Kirby Larson

a true story of Hurricane Katrina, friendship, and survival

Two Bobbies

Sarah Sammis

The events of Hurricane Katrina and its effects on New Orleans are still fresh in my mind. I've only been to the city once and it was a business trip. I spent most of my time behind stage at the Convention Center and would have to walk back to my hotel every night because the roads were blocked for the various Mardigras parades. The walking helped me get a sense of the geography and architecture (at least for the corner of the city I was in).

Disasters and recoveries have many stories associated with them. Those stories inspire books. When I heard about the rescue of a blind cat and his companion dog, I had to read their story. It's told lovingly in the picture book, Two Bobbies by Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery.

The book avoids the gorier details while still giving children a basic timeline of what happened. As it focuses on a cat and a dog, the emphasis on the struggle to survive during and after the flooding is put on the animals. It's nice to remember the animals who were left behind because so many shelters weren't set up to take pets.

The struggles that Bob Cat and Bobbie go through gave Harriet and me moments to talk about how the flooding affected the people in the area too. Our reading of the book was especially well timed as Ian was in New Orleans on a business trip.

Two Bobbies a true story of Hurricane Katrina, friendship, and survival

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