Basing her story on the experiences of her family Edie Colon has delivered a thought-provoking, warm tale of what it would be like to grow up in two very different cultures.
As the author noted she has named her protagonist Gabriella “so that I could have some distance from my story.” Gabriella was born in Havana, Cuba where she enjoyed a happy childhood. She loved the beach and the sounds the waves made. However, her childhood happiness was to be short lived when she overheard her parents talking about something called a revolution. She had noticed differences - her grandparents’s restaurant was closed; her friend’s father was taken away in the middle of the night because “he had helped something called the Resistance.”
Shortly thereafter Gabriella and her parents went to New York City and a new home in the Bronx. The little girl could not believe snow, something she had never seen before, and instead of the sound of waves she heard cars and trucks.
She was nervous about going to school and learning English, but her teacher was kind. She liked lunch time because of the new foods she was tasting, and she made friends.
When at last her grandparents in Cuba were able to join them in the Bronx they were a family again.
Award-winning Artist Raul Colon brings the story of a little girl and her family to life with vivid full-page paintings. A small list of Spanish words is also included.
- Gail Cooke
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