The Big Rivers is really the story of the water cycle. I wanted to write about water and was working on the text, wondering how I could introduce a little drama into the story, when the Great Flood of 1993 began. Suddenly, I was up to my ears in drama. Over the course of two years I made three trips to the rivers, one at the height of the flood. I filled many sandbags along with the other volunteers.

"There have been a number of books about this flood.......but for its beauty, simplicity, and obvious compassion for the victims, this one is a winner." School Library Journal, July 1997 "...the prose is lyrical....visually appealing..." Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 1997

Rivers provide a great example of how we are all linked together. Practically any pollutant you can name will eventually find its way into the waterways where it spreads. It may effect people, plants, and animals hundreds of miles from where the it was introduced.
The Mississippi and its big tributaries, the Missouri, and Ohio, also provide an interesting look at man's struggle to contain natural forces. All of these rivers are dammed and controlled for the purpose of barge traffic and to prevent flooding. This works well most of the time, but the power of the river in flood is enormous. The photo shows what was once a big cornfield, now covered with dirty water, and more rain on the way.
I spent a day at the Waterways Experimental Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi, learning how the Army Corps of Engineers goes about this enormous task. One of their tools for evaluating how a dam will effect a river is to build a model of the whole thing. These are big, carefully made models. The river channel is cast in concrete, and pulverized coal is used to simulate the river sediment. Model dams are built to see what changes take place and there are even scale model boats and barges. It is very serious work, but it looked like a lot of fun, too.
I wanted to put this information in the book, but with a 32 page limit, there simply isn't room for everything. I am glad I can tell you about these things here.
During the flood I filled sandbags and patched levees for a week. It was a hot job, but there was a great satisfaction in working together with people of all ages. Almost every levee I worked on eventually failed, flooding the fields and towns as in the photo above.

This is a diesel tug I sketched in Memphis. This kind of boat is used to push big rafts of barges, called tows.