HURRICANES AND BIRTHDAY CAKE
Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 08:08AM 
When I was two...First of all, I hope all of you and your families and friends and schools are safe after Hurricane Irene. It was a scary time, but it was touching to me how in the cities and countryside we all worked together to try to keep each other safe.
This hurricane brought back memories of one of the first stories I ever published, “Hurricanes and Birthday Cake” about the “GREAT ATLANTIC HURRICANE OF September 14, 1944 when I was only two.
Atlantic City 1944 before the hurricane
View of a hurricane from outer space
Atlantic City streets post hurricane 1944
Our house after the hurricane
You can download the whole story here. I wrote it in 1973, years ago when I was just getting started as a children’s book writer.
I always thought it was funny that one of them most exciting things that ever happened to me happened before I really could remember it. I was in Atlantic City with my mother, my brother and my cousins, and the storm was so bad that soldiers had to come and help us out. Everyone told the story how I crawled onto the kitchen table and ate a whole birthday cake in the middle of the storm. One of my cousins also turned out to be a children's book writer, Robie Harris.
So if you have any pictures and stories from Hurricane Irene…remember to write them down and keep the pictures. And if you’d like, send them here---and we can all share them.
Stay safe and have a wonderful time seeing all your friends and going back to school this September and sharing your stories of this summer.
Liz Levy
Reader Comments (1)
I glad Hurricane Irene didn’t much of the Bronx but the winds were scary I thought the windows were going to break open. I t sounded like someone blowing a trumpet to warn people. On Sunday I woke up at 4 am because of the Hurricane Irene. Then later like nearly 5 am my younger brother woke up. My brothers were sleeping in my room because they like sleeping there, even though they have their own room. But I’m glad the Hurricane wasn’t too bad. I ‘m glad that our electricity was working so me and my brother Peniel who woke up nearly 5 am. Got to eat breakfast and watch the Looney Tunes Movie Collection my father bought for us. I two brothers, the 1st one is Micah and the last one is Peniel. This from Neriah Amponsah from Dinah’s Class who was part of the book S.S What’s Going On? Bye Elizabeth Levy. I hope you had a great summer.