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A review by librarianoliviarae
Islandborn by Junot Díaz
3.0
Memory is magic; within you is the place you come from.
I enjoyed this book, the illustrations are beautiful, rich in color, playful, and textured. They perfectly guide a sweet story about learning about one’s history and culture through the oral tradition.
But the story is dense and lacks context which is important for children and those who read with them. I would have appreciated an authors note or facts in the back to ground the story in place and allow parents, teachers, librarians not familiar with the historical context a place to start a conversation with young readers. Perhaps this omission/vagueness was intentional as the experience of islanders fighting a “monster” and coming to America is not necessarily unique, but the story that Lola gathers is. I also was confused by the constant parenthetical mention of Nelson, a boy in Lola’s class. These moments felt like an interruption from an important narrative and were somewhat negative.
Worth reading with older children along with other books about the Dominican Republic and Dominican-American people.
I enjoyed this book, the illustrations are beautiful, rich in color, playful, and textured. They perfectly guide a sweet story about learning about one’s history and culture through the oral tradition.
But the story is dense and lacks context which is important for children and those who read with them. I would have appreciated an authors note or facts in the back to ground the story in place and allow parents, teachers, librarians not familiar with the historical context a place to start a conversation with young readers. Perhaps this omission/vagueness was intentional as the experience of islanders fighting a “monster” and coming to America is not necessarily unique, but the story that Lola gathers is. I also was confused by the constant parenthetical mention of Nelson, a boy in Lola’s class. These moments felt like an interruption from an important narrative and were somewhat negative.
Worth reading with older children along with other books about the Dominican Republic and Dominican-American people.