Her island neighbors call her “Darkfright” because she is so afraid of the night. As darkness comes on, Darkfright does anything in her power to keep it away–she turns on all the lights and bustles around the house as if it were day. Then one night a fallen star crashed through her door, a star that needs care and mending, and ultimately to be replaced in the night sky. The broken star helped her see things differently.
A young girl growing up in Spanish Harlem in the 1940’s watches the secure world of her childhood years slowly erode away.
The largest island in the Caribbean, Cuba is a place of mountains and forests, beaches and coral reefs, large cities and quiet villages. Its thriving cultural life has been shaped by the many different groups that have called Cuba home, including native peoples, Spaniards, and Africans. Frank Staub offers readers a clear portrait of what life is like for the children of Cuba.
Everybody talks about little Hue Boy’s size. He gets teased by his friends at school, his mother worries day and night, and his grandma sews up clothes for him to grow into. Buy he does not change at all, even though just about everyone in the village offers advice. Yet in time Hue Boy grows to understand what it really means to stand tall, no matter what his height.
A lazy boy gets his head stuck in a pot, and only with the wise advice of his grandmother does he get it out.
A collection of four fables which recount the adventures of various animals living on the islands of the West Indies.
A girl in Santo Domingo tells how cocoa is harvested during the late 1800s while at the same time her counterpart in Maine tells about the harvesting of ice.
A collection of three folktales which reflect the diverse heritage within Puerto Rican culture.
Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her 12th birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government’s secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition of el Trujillo’s dictatorship. Using the strength and courage of her family, Anita must overcome her fears and fly to freedom, leaving all that she once knew behind.
One moment the sun is shining on the slopes of El Yunque, the largest mountain in eastern Puerto Rico. The next, everything has changed. The sky has turned deep purple, and you feel as if the air has been sucked from your lungs. That can mean only one thing: A hurricane is coming!