Tomorrow we'll be celebrating our third book birthday for the Unicorn Rescue Society. Yeah, we're fans. I love these kids and their "twitchy" Professor Fauna. It's like Magic Tree House and Miss Frizzle conquer the Koch Brothers. I hope that sounds like a super fun read to you because it most definitely is!
In this "episode" Uchenna and Elliot are in Havana to find the mysterious Madre de Auguas of Cuba, the "Mother of Waters." Could this magical creature responsible for the drought on the island? Hmmm....or could it be related to something else?
The Unicorn Rescue Society regulars fly to Havana in the Phoenix (oh my!) picking up their new friend, Yoenis, on the way in Miami. A little Cuban history and literature (Jose Marti) are sprinkled throughout as well as environmental and capitalism messages, with bouts of humor, making this enjoyable for kids and adults alike and opportunities for many kinds of conversations.
While reading I thought of other books about Cuba and Havana that I have loved:
Margarita Engle and Mike Curato's, All the Way to Havana:
(The RIF website is helpful again! Here's a word search to pair with the book.)
I was also reminded of a book that we'll be celebrating in August, Letters to Cuba by Ruth Behar. I loved this book filled with hope, perseverance, acceptance and diversity with quotes, like URS, from Jose Marti. I even wrote in my notes about it to pair with Emma Otheguy's beautiful Marti's Song for Freedom and the already mentioned Engle/Curato book. We'll all be Marti fans before the end of the summer, if we weren't already.
Remember the Pura Belpre honor winning book, The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya? Poetry and Jose Marti make an appearance in it, too, and delicious Cuban food! If this video doesn't get you hungry for food and parties, I don't know what will!
So let's PARTY!
See you tomorrow at 1:30 to celebrate it up with the URS kids, friends and antagonists.
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