Saint Louis Armstrong Beach: Evacuate–Baton Rouge

by Brenda Woods
Twelve-year-old Saint and his dog, Shadow, grapple with the devastating Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

This list covers "Evacuate"–"Baton Rouge."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
30 words 9 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. provisions
    a stock or supply of foods
    “The block is pretty much a ghost town,” he said. “Only two families left are the Tiberons and us. Perry’s tryin’ to wait it out. He and Squirrel are holed up over there with a generator and plenty of provisions.”
  2. catastrophic
    extremely harmful; bringing physical or financial ruin
    Hurricane Katrina had been upgraded again, this time to a catastrophic Category Five, and was headed straight for New Orleans.
  3. refuge
    a shelter from danger or hardship
    As if Mayor Nagin had heard him, he said the Superdome was being set up as a “refuge of last resort.”
  4. last resort
    something done or used only when nothing else works
    As if Mayor Nagin had heard him, he said the Superdome was being set up as a “refuge of last resort.”
  5. hobble
    walk unevenly due to pain, injury, or weakness
    Some patients were being pushed in wheelchairs to cars and loaded in. Others hobbled out with walkers and crutches.
  6. desperately
    with great urgency
    There she was, a really old woman who desperately needed my assistance.
  7. fidget
    move restlessly
    Uncle Hugo fidgeted and glanced at his watch.
  8. gawk
    look with amazement
    But when I went to grab the plate with the scraps from the porch to bring it inside, I gawked in disbelief.
  9. huffy
    quick to take offense
    “Miz Moran, can I have the scraps or not?”
    “You ain’t got to get huffy, little Saint. Look in the icebox. Got some ham pieces I was ’bouta throw out.”
  10. rummage
    search haphazardly
    She rummaged through her cabinets and handed me a plastic container.
  11. deadbolt
    the part of a lock that is engaged or withdrawn with a key
    She went into the service porch and put a key into the back-door deadbolt, locking us inside.
  12. sulk
    be in a huff and display one's displeasure
    Disappointed, I plopped down in a chair and sulked. “Now, that’s what I call a pout. Stop your worryin’. We fine so far, ain’t we?”
  13. pout
    a disdainful grimace
    Disappointed, I plopped down in a chair and sulked. “Now, that’s what I call a pout. Stop your worryin’. We fine so far, ain’t we?”
  14. mercy
    the act of showing great kindness toward the distressed
    Miz Moran put her arm around me and led me to the front room. “Hope the gal shows us some mercy.”
  15. static
    crackling or hissing noise caused by electrical interference
    Quickly, I clicked the batteries into place, turned it on, and surfed the channels. Loud static, soft static, every kind of static.
  16. aggravation
    an exasperated feeling of annoyance
    After I’d played with it for another twenty minutes, Miz Moran snapped. “That’s enough aggravation for a while.”
  17. nestle
    move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position
    Despite what was going on outside, Shadow was calm. I nestled on the floor beside him and rambled, “Miz Moran says everything’s gonna be fine, so don’t you worry...."
  18. rickety
    inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
    “That big tree that was in my backyard musta fell,” she said, and she began tugging at the refrigerator. Together, we moved it, opened the service porch door, and peered out through the window in the rickety back door.
  19. gruesome
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    Suddenly the wind turned gruesome again, and as if someone had blasted it with a cannon, the back door finally blew in.
  20. console
    give moral or emotional strength to
    “I want my mama and pops,” I whispered. As we retreated to the front room, she consoled me, “Now, now.”
  21. knickknack
    a small, inexpensive decorative object
    One of Miz Moran’s wooden chairs floated by, and all around, knickknacks and books sat atop the black water.
  22. wade
    walk through relatively shallow water
    Slowly, I waded into the kitchen. Thinking the refrigerator would open easily, I gripped the handle and pulled. No such luck.
  23. recede
    pull back or move away or backward
    I was pissed. “You are one dead dog,” I said as I leaped through the air and grabbed his neck. “Saint, stoppit! Not like he knew what he was doing. He’s just an animal! Hopefully the water will recede and we’ll be outta here tomorrow.”
  24. debris
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
    For as far as we could see, water was everywhere. Fallen trees were on their sides. Roofs and huge parts of houses were gone. Cars were turned belly-up. Garbage and debris floated.
  25. murky
    cloudy, dirty, and difficult to see through
    Excitedly, I leaped up and nearly fell from the balcony into the murky water.
  26. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    But after trudging through only two blocks of thigh-high water, my legs turned to jelly and I fell.
  27. slog
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    I needed to take a rest, but there was no place to even sit. Now wet from head to toe, I slogged on.
  28. abode
    housing that someone is living in
    “I thought you guys were still at your house,” I told the Tiberons between gulps of water. “We were,” Squirrel replied, “until it became apparent that the only sapient choice was to surrender the abode.”
  29. usher
    accompany or escort
    The cop’s stare settled on Perry’s gun, so he put the double-barrel aside and promptly ushered all of us, including Shadow, inside.
  30. anon
    (old-fashioned or informal) in a little while
    “I’ll see you anon,” Squirrel muttered.
    “That means you’ll see us sometime soon, right?” I said.
Created on Tue Aug 31 11:08:08 EDT 2021 (updated Tue Sep 07 13:45:00 EDT 2021)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.