Over in the Wetlands by Caroline Starr Rose

The storm gets dressed in beautiful language and pictures in OVER IN THE WETLANDS: A Hurricane-on-the-Bayou Story by Caroline Starr Rose, illus. by Rob Dunlavey.

Welcome to the bayou, where silky mist weaves, clouds are cotton tufts, and Caroline employs powerful verbs and images to move the story forward:

crab babies scuttle
wind stirs moss like silent bells
cypress are salted with an egret flock
dark clouds snarl
egrets cower between cattails (as seen on the cover!)
marsh grass clutches
bulrushes dance
black bear shambles, whuffles

and

Mama gator is a swamp chauffeur.

Beautiful! I'm gifting this one to my turning-10-today nephew who was born in middle Tennessee while Katrina was pounding New Orleans. Happy Birthday, Levi!

MadiLynn, Eric, LEVI, MicaJon