CUBA IN MY POCKET by Adrianna Cuevas and EYES THAT KISS IN THE CORNERS by Joanna Ho and illustrated by Dung Ho

We began with our novel, Cuba in my Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas. We all liked the sensory picture that twelve-year-old Cumba painted of his native Cuba and his loving family and friends -- we could see, hear, feel, smell all that he described of the life he loved but had to leave in 1961 after the Revolution. We also liked his first-hand description of his experiences as a new immigrant in the U.S. -- getting used to a new language, food, people, activities, school, and missing his quite affluent family and his country. We felt that many young readers, immigrants themselves, could relate to this and that non-immigrant kids could get a feel for what some of their fellow-students might be experiencing -- perhaps creating some empathy. We also liked Cumba's voice, and were gripped by his feelings as he had to leave the home he had known in order to avoid being conscripted into the military, and we thought that the tension in the story was well-maintained throughout. We understood the author's need to fictionalize the story of her own father's journey from Cuba to the U.S. in 1961 and were thankful for her note at the end of the story as well as the Glossary of many Cuban terms. However, a couple of readers had mixed feelings about this book, since they were fans of the Revolution, and what it had accomplished for the millions of mostly poor, mostly black, and mostly illiterate Cuban peasants, namely: a 98% literacy rate due to the Literacy Brigade; free education for all; and free health care in every neighborhood. It was noted that the very poor peasants did not have the opportunities that Cumba had, due to his professional parents' knowledge, connections, and wealth. All of that considered, we were all happy that -- in the story -- Cumba's family was ultimately able to join him in Florida in the end. We felt that this could be a very useful book for middle-schoolers to further their knowledge about immigration, trying to 'fit in', and the universal 12-year-old angst that many young folks experience.

We all agreed that the biggest strength of our picture book, Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and illustrated by Dung Ho was the group of vibrantly colorful, detailed, and in some places quite fanciful digitally created illustrations that we felt really served to tell the story in the voice of a little girl who compares her eyes with those of her mom, grandma, and little sister. We liked the inclusion of the folkloric/mythic images from the stories her grandma told, and the warm connection between three generations of females. We felt that much of the text was glowing and poetic, but that other parts were a bit overwritten. We had a hard time determining exactly where this story took place, and would have been very thankful to have been able to read an Author's Note with further details. We loved the fact that the story (and the title) placed value on something that has been de-valued -- the eyes of people with Asian ancestry -- and the fact that this very short picture book served to define their beauty. We thought it could be a great read-aloud, and gave it a 'thumbs-up'!