The strange, true tale of a Louisiana lake that vanished—taking with it every fish below and every boat and barge above—told in a gripping and accessible graphic format.
Home to catfish and crawdads, shrimp and spoonbills, even a gator or two, Lake Peigneur—pronounced “your pain,” only backward—bustles also with human life. Each day, the bean-shaped freshwater lake and its shores hum with folks going about their work: a devoted gardener’s apprentice and his dogs, fishermen, oilmen drilling at Well P-20, and the fifty-one miners employed by the Diamond Crystal Salt Mines. For most, November 20, 1980, began as “just another day on the lake.” But as the lake itself reflects, humans had, over time, left behind a honeycomb of salt highways deep beneath its surface, and water and salt mix all too well. Bracing, suspenseful, and packed with dramatic illustrations and dense end matter, this story of a catastrophic accident—narrated with the homespun voice of a “tall” tale, but true nonetheless—will amaze science and history buffs alike.
SELECTION
| 2025 Junior Library Guild Selection
A gripping survival story, packed with environmental science and truly strange history! —Steve Sheinkin, author of Bomb and The Bletchley Riddle
The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur is a tense and gripping journey through an unnatural disaster that expertly balances many compelling stories (human, animal, and lake) at the same time. Jose Pimienta brings the drill rig environment to life with delightful maps, diagrams, and some of the best draftsmanship you’ll see in comics today. —Shing Yin Khor, creator of the National Book Award Finalist The Legend of Auntie Po
A beautifully illustrated, captivating true story that seems fantastical. Perfectly shows how human impact on nature can cause strange and sudden ecological disasters. —Rachel Ignotofsky, New York Times best-selling author of Women in Science
A strange and riveting tale of heroism in the face of extreme peril, The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur is a page-turner that never lets up. Brilliantly told and beautifully illustrated, this is a graphic novel that will captivate readers young and old. —Matt Tavares, New York Times best-selling author of Hoops
A riveting tall tale of a book about one of the great unknown natural disasters of recent times. Heart-stopping, folksy, and bizarre, a perfect gumbo of ideas for a nonfiction comic. —G. Neri, author of the Eisner Award nominee Yummy
Allan Wolf is the author of several picture books, poetry books, and young adult novels, including Junius Leak and the Vortex of Doom, The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep: Voices from the Donner Party, The WatchThat Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic, Who Killed Christopher Goodman?, and Zane’s Trace. Allan Wolf lives in Roanoke, Virginia.
Jose Pimienta draws comics, storyboards, and sketches for visual development and is the creator of the graphic novels Twin Cities and Suncatcher, as well as the illustrator of Stars, Hide Your Fire by Kel McDonald and numerous other graphic novels.They live in Burbank, California.
The strange, true tale of a Louisiana lake that vanished—taking with it every fish below and every boat and barge above—told in a gripping and accessible graphic format.
Home to catfish and crawdads, shrimp and spoonbills, even a gator or two, Lake Peigneur—pronounced “your pain,” only backward—bustles also with human life. Each day, the bean-shaped freshwater lake and its shores hum with folks going about their work: a devoted gardener’s apprentice and his dogs, fishermen, oilmen drilling at Well P-20, and the fifty-one miners employed by the Diamond Crystal Salt Mines. For most, November 20, 1980, began as “just another day on the lake.” But as the lake itself reflects, humans had, over time, left behind a honeycomb of salt highways deep beneath its surface, and water and salt mix all too well. Bracing, suspenseful, and packed with dramatic illustrations and dense end matter, this story of a catastrophic accident—narrated with the homespun voice of a “tall” tale, but true nonetheless—will amaze science and history buffs alike.
Awards
SELECTION
| 2025 Junior Library Guild Selection
Praise
A gripping survival story, packed with environmental science and truly strange history! —Steve Sheinkin, author of Bomb and The Bletchley Riddle
The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur is a tense and gripping journey through an unnatural disaster that expertly balances many compelling stories (human, animal, and lake) at the same time. Jose Pimienta brings the drill rig environment to life with delightful maps, diagrams, and some of the best draftsmanship you’ll see in comics today. —Shing Yin Khor, creator of the National Book Award Finalist The Legend of Auntie Po
A beautifully illustrated, captivating true story that seems fantastical. Perfectly shows how human impact on nature can cause strange and sudden ecological disasters. —Rachel Ignotofsky, New York Times best-selling author of Women in Science
A strange and riveting tale of heroism in the face of extreme peril, The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur is a page-turner that never lets up. Brilliantly told and beautifully illustrated, this is a graphic novel that will captivate readers young and old. —Matt Tavares, New York Times best-selling author of Hoops
A riveting tall tale of a book about one of the great unknown natural disasters of recent times. Heart-stopping, folksy, and bizarre, a perfect gumbo of ideas for a nonfiction comic. —G. Neri, author of the Eisner Award nominee Yummy
Author
Allan Wolf is the author of several picture books, poetry books, and young adult novels, including Junius Leak and the Vortex of Doom, The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep: Voices from the Donner Party, The WatchThat Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic, Who Killed Christopher Goodman?, and Zane’s Trace. Allan Wolf lives in Roanoke, Virginia.
Jose Pimienta draws comics, storyboards, and sketches for visual development and is the creator of the graphic novels Twin Cities and Suncatcher, as well as the illustrator of Stars, Hide Your Fire by Kel McDonald and numerous other graphic novels.They live in Burbank, California.
