Young Author To Make A Splash With The Katrina Dolphins!
Kingsport, Tennessee (May 17, 2007) McKenna Andrews, is the 9-year-old author of the book 'Riding The Storm Out'. Riding The Storm Out is based on true events when The Marine Life Dolphins were swept out into the Gulf when Hurricane Katrina battered the Mississippi coastline, this short, illustrated story looks at a different side of the hurricane. Captive dolphins that have been bred in aquaria don't know how to hunt and could starve to death. McKenna has Noah as a young Dolphin who knows a big storm is coming but hasn't been moved like some dolphins to a safer hotel pool. He has heard the word Katrina but doesn't understand it. Soon he is out in the open sea, and worse still alone. This changes when he meets a wild dolphin called Zack who introduces him to his pod and begins the rudiments of teaching him how to survive. This story follows real life events in that the domesticated dolphins were quite keen to return to their unnatural life. No 'so long and thanks for all the fish' from Noah and friends. Noah soon finds that a lot of things sting and you have to use teamwork to catch - gosh - live fish! McKenna, has a simple story, with plenty of emotion and wonderment in it. Part of a young author's project, the prose is matched by a series of photographs, some colour and some b&w and is book-ended by two quotes from D.H. Lawrence. - Lulu Press
McKenna along with her family also rode out Katrina as it hit the MS Gulf Coast. McKenna’s account is fictional, told from the perspective of one dolphin whose courage enabled him to survive in the unfamiliar ocean. These dolphins now reside at The Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas!
McKenna, who turns 11-years-old in September, has accepted an invitation by The Atlantis Resort to come and visit her old friends, ‘The Katrina Dolphins’, from June 10th through June 15th, 2007. She is very excited to be visiting the Bahamas and is curious to see the recently born dolphin calves.
Her book hit #1 on the self-publishing web site Lulu.com in April 2006 and even garnered a commendation letter from President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.
Quick Reviews
McKenna, has a strong young talent and you can expect more quality product from her soon.
- by Lulu Press 2006
In a similar vein to current New York Times BESTSELLER, 'Owen and Mzee' - about the unlikely friendship between a baby hippo and an aged tortoise after 2004's devastating tsunami - this tale 'Riding The Storm Out', although fictionalized, follows a group of dolphins swept out to sea after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, MS. Curiously, Storm's author is a nine-year-old from nearby Petal, MS who visited the dolphins each Summer. - by Home Life Magazine, Fall Edition 2006, (An American Airlines Publication)
McKenna has also been featured in Chicken Soup For The Soul Webzine, Mississippi Magazine, G9 Girl's Chain Reaction Magazine, American Airlines Home Life Magazine, Today’s MS Woman, Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s ‘Beyond Katrina’ TV Show, TropicWave Internet Radio, Clearchannel Radio, TV interviews and newspaper stories as well.
More Reviews
http://www.lulu.com/content/219574
Music Video
At age 9 she also wrote a song and designed a music video about the dolphins entitled "When We Were Kings" you can view this music video by clicking or cutting & pasting the below link:
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=29488&fr=yfp-t-501
This young author is busy working on two new books and she has just completed a calendar featuring dolphins and marine mammals.
MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Michael Andrews
1036 Parham Place
Kingsport, TN 37660
(423) 765-0129 Phone
(423) 276-1932 Cell
michaelandrews5@aol.com
www.mckennaandrews.com
www.lulu.com/mckennaandrews
###