The Tide in the Attic

[pegkerr]

I have a book recommendation for parents who want a good book for talking about this week's events related to Katrina with their kids. It's a book I enjoyed greatly as a child, called The Tide in the Attic, translated from the Dutch by Aleid Van Rhijn (the original Dutch title was Een Helicoter Daalde), illustrated by Margery Gill, translated by A.J. Pomerans, published Criterion 1962, 127 pages.

"When the dikes broke and the water rose higher and higher, Kees, his parents and little sister, Sjaantje, their maid and hired man moved up and up in the house until the only place they could escape from the rising water was the roof. There the six, with the dog and the cat, crouched for a day and a night until they were rescued by helicopter. There are no heroics in this story of the disastrous 1953 flood in Holland; the writing is simple, realistic reporting." (Horn Book Apr/62 p.174)

I adored this book as a child, and read it again and again. There are used copies available at Amazon, and others at abebooks.com. And there's always the library, where I hope to snag a copy.