“Children’s Lit in Cuba, Puerto Rico & Haiti”: Terry Catasús Jennings, Raúl Colón, Lesléa Newman, Elizabeth Baez & M.J. Fievre

Lesléa Newman is the author of 80 books for readers of all ages, including the memoirs-in-verse I Carry My Mother and I Wish My Father; the YA novel-in-verse October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard; and the picture books Here Is The World: A Year of Jewish Holidays, Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story, and As Babies Dream. In her bilingual children’s book Alicia and The Hurricane: A Story of Puerto Rico/Alicia Y El Huracán: Un cuento de Puerto Rico (Children’s Book Press), illustrated by Elizabeth Baez, Newman introduces us to Alicia. After snuggling into bed each night, Alicia listens to the big voices of the tiny coquí frogs that live all around Puerto Rico and sing her to sleep. Ko-kee, ko-kee, ko-kee, ko-kee. Then a terrible hurricane hits Puerto Rico, and Alicia and her family take refuge in a shelter. At bedtime, Alicia hears grown-ups snoring, babies crying, wind howling, and rain pounding. She cannot hear the song of the coquí. Are the little tree frogs safe? And will Alicia and her family find at home after the storm is over? Alicia and the Hurricane is a tender look at the resilience of people and native creatures whose lives have been disrupted by a natural disaster.

Raúl Colón is the illustrator of many picture books, including Draw!; Jill Biden’s Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops; Imagine!; Susanna Reich’s José! Born to Dance; Angela’s Christmas by Frank McCourt; and Cuban American writer Terry Catasús Jennings’ semi-autobiographical The Little House of Hope. Colón lived in Puerto Rico as a young boy and now resides in New York City.

Terry Catasús Jennings is a Cuban American writer who immigrated to the United States in 1961 after her father was jailed in Cuba by Fidel Castro’s government. She’s the author of the Definitely Dominguita series; The Women’s Liberation Movement, 1960-1990; and Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist & Civil Rights Activist, a biography in verse. In The Little House of Hope (Neal Porter Books), illustrated by Raúl Colón, as Esperanza and her family settle into their new house, they all do their part to make it a home. When other immigrant families need a place to stay, it seems only natural for the family in “la casita” to help. Together they turn the house into a place where other new immigrants can help one another. Esperanza is always the first to welcome them to her home – it’s a safe place in a new land. This is Jennings’ semi-autobiographical story of how immigrants can help others find their footing in a new country. A Spanish edition, La Casita de Esperanza, was published simultaneously.

M.J. Fievre is a long-time educator and writer. She is also Miami Book Fair’s ReadCaribbean program coordinator; directing and producing the children’s cultural show Taptap Krik? Krak! falls under her purview. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, she has taught creative writing workshops to children at the O, Miami Poetry Festival and the Miami Art Museum, as well as in various schools in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia, in her native Haiti, and in South Florida. In The Ocean Lives There (Dragonfruit), illustrated by Polina Hrytskova, Fievre invites young readers to join Imane on her adventure through a magic door and experience the beautiful Caribbean island of Haiti. Imane is a curious young girl with a big question. What is behind the magic door inside her house? Her sister Caroline says it’s a door that goes everywhere and nowhere. Sometimes it’s red, sometimes it’s blue, and it smells like coffee beans and the ocean. Imane can only imagine what’s on the other side: a beautiful place full of magic, music, and fun. But Momma keeps the door locked tight, and no one is allowed to open it.

Elizabeth Baez is an artist. Her work was on exhibit in the Harlem Fine Art Show Virtual Art Exhibition and is now part of the art collection at Bay Path University. She has been the curator of the Broward College Annual Hispanic Heritage Group Art Exhibits for the past 16 years, and illustrated Lesléa Newman’s bilingual children’s book Alicia and the Hurricane: A Story of Puerto Rico/Alicia Y El Huracán: Un cuento de Puerto Rico (Children’s Book Press). After snuggling into bed each night, Alicia listens to the big voices of the tiny coquí frogs that live all around Puerto Rico and sing her to sleep. Ko-kee, ko-kee, ko-kee, ko-kee. Then a terrible hurricane hits Puerto Rico, and Alicia and her family take refuge in a shelter. At bedtime, Alicia hears grown-ups snoring, babies crying, wind howling, and rain pounding. She cannot hear the song of the coquí. Are the little tree frogs safe? And will Alicia and her family find at home after the storm is over? Alicia and the Hurricane is a tender look at the resilience of people and native creatures whose lives have been disrupted by a natural disaster.