Islandborn by Junot Diaz

Author

Junot Diaz

Illustrator

Leo Espinoza

Publisher: Penguin

Suggested reading age: 5-10

Themes: diversity, culture, belonging, memory

Opening line:

Summary: Lola goes to a wonderful school where everyone is from “faraway places”, including Lola and her family. One day their teacher Ms. Obi gives all students an assignment to draw a picture of the country the kids were from. It seems everyone knows what they will draw except for Lola, because she was just a little baby when they left the island. It makes her upset at first but then she finds a solution: She should go and find those who remember the mysterious “island” she was born on. 

This is when her cousin Leticia decides to make Lola company and help her to complete the interesting school task. On her adventure, Lola finds out more about her family history and she has to meet many different people from the neighborhood who know much more about the island than she does. Will she be brave enough to ask questions and get the answers she needs to finish the drawing?

My impressions:

This book is exceptional in many ways. The story, with its immersive illustrations, makes you feel like you are right there in the setting.

There's something really special about the characters in this book too that makes them likeable and memorable. You'll surely like them too! Take the friendly vendor, Mrs. Bernard, for example, who remembers the Island's music the most and when she talks, it's like the page comes alive: "On the island there's even more music? There's more music than air! And everyone is always dancing. Even in their sleep people dance." Or how about Lola's loving, patient and caring abuela who loves sharing unforgettable memories from her past: "Fish jump from the waves into your lap, and at sunset sometimes the dolphins will come out of the water to bow good night. And up north, where I'm from, there are even whales in the surf." Even grumpy Mr. Mir turns out to have a good side to his personality! And of course there is Lola herself - she's curious and never gives up as she learns where her family comes from.

I've read this book to my kids over and over again because they love it so much! I bet you'll love this heart-warming story too - it teaches about being brave, moving to new places (migration), and how different people are great in their own ways (diversity). And don't forget about the beautiful illustrations created by Leo Espinoza that make the experience even better.

Read it! You'll enjoy the book.

About the author: Junot Díaz was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New Jersey. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Drown; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award; and This Is How You Lose Her, a New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist. He is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, PEN/Malamud Award, Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, and PEN/O. Henry Award. A graduate of Rutgers College, Díaz is currently the fiction editor at Boston Review and the Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor of Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He is the cofounder of Voices of Our Nation Workshop.

Author's website: http://www.junotdiaz.com/

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