From the popular Lone Star Journals, now in paperback

The Great Storm (paper)

The Hurricane Diary of J. T. King, Galveston, Texas, 1900

Lisa Waller Rogers

“An action-packed narrative. . . . Students will enjoy this compelling story, and, drawn in by the drama, they will be immersed in the historical past that Rogers has recreated.” —Southwestern Historical Quarterly

“Rogers is so careful in her research that her books give one the feeling of being there.” —Victoria Advocate

“This is history the way it should be taught.” —Wichita Falls Times Record News

“Marvelous historical fiction . . . . This superb addition to children’s literature nicely complements the other solid, historically accurate works about the storm.” —Review of Texas Books

“As a first-hand account, it brings home the full impact of the disaster. . . . Austin-based author Lisa Waller Rogers has done a terrific job seeking out the minutiae as well as the key facts to bring both J. T. and his diary to life.” —Texas Books in Review

More than a century later, the Galveston hurricane of 1900 is still the largest natural disaster in American history. Pounding most of the historic island city to rubble, and claiming perhaps as many as eight thousand lives, the storm stranded Galveston’s stunned survivors without a bridge to the mainland. When the bridge was rebuilt, amazingly in eleven days, only the most stalwart—like fictive young diarist J. T. King—would choose to stay. Before the storm, J. T. is a normal, active teenager, swimming, riding his bike, and getting into scrapes with his best friend, Ippy. Though J. T. sleeps on a rickety cot in the pantry of his grandmother’s boardinghouse, life at the corner of Q1/2 and 25th Streets is as secure as the sturdy old house itself. But when the hurricane hits, brave and compassionate J. T. is poised to weather and record for all time the greatest storm any American has ever survived. Extensive primary-source research forms the backbone of J. T.’s thrilling, authentic, and richly detailed diary. The historical appendix, complete with photos and map, is invaluable to young readers and teachers alike.

Lisa Waller Rogers is the author of three Lone Star Journal novels for young readers, as well as an anthology, A Texas Sampler. She lives in Austin, Texas.

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