The Little House of Hope

February 15, 2022
With hope, love, and hard work, you can make a house a home. Forced to leave their beloved Cuba, a young girl named Esperanza and her family find themselves in a new country, starting over. After searching and searching, they finally find a little house--la casita--to call their own. It smells a bit like "old, wet socks" and has shabby furnishings, but they are safe, together, and happy. Mami and Papi work multiple jobs day and night. Whether it's doing schoolwork, learning English, or completing chores, the entire family works hard and helps each other. A few months later, Mami's sister is able to flee Cuba and moves in with them. When Mami meets a woman newly arrived from Mexico with her husband and children, Esperanza's family makes room for them in la casita even though they have little space. Over time, many immigrants are offered refuge in the house until they are able to gain a footing in their host country and move on to homes of their own, never forgetting la casita that gave them hope when they needed it most. Beautifully illustrated using Col�n's trademark scratched-watercolor technique, this book reflects the stories of many a refugee family and humanizes a group of people often othered. In an age-appropriate way, it touches on the complicated reasons people leave their homes. Spanish words and hints of Cuban culture are scattered throughout. Characters' skin tones range from pale to light brown. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A little house indeed, but this inspiring tale offers a lot of hope. (Picture book. 5-8)

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May 1, 2022
Preschool-Grade 1 The house may be small and rickety, but Esperanza and her family are happy to be living in the casita, because they are together and safe. Now far from their old home of Cuba, the casita is where they'll make their new home in the U.S. As family and friends also begin arriving to the U.S. in search of a place to go, Esperanza's family opens the casita's doors to those that need help, and soon the small house becomes a lively and bustling home for many. Award-winning Col�n uses a mixed medium of colored pencils and watercolor to create his distinct artwork that is rich in color and texture and beautifully encapsulates the warmth the casita provides. Jennings' semiautobiographical story portrays the immigrant experience in several different ways, but everyone's story is connected through their shared hopes, aspirations, and determination, all of which will be relatable to readers who have gone through a similar experience when immigrating to the U.S. A valuable story about the importance of generosity and community.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 27, 2022
A casita offers “a safe place, in a new land” in this warmly communal picture book that centers a dwelling’s residents over time. When Esperanza and her family move from Cuba to the United States, they look for an affordable house to call home and find la casita, where they’re together, safe, and happy, even if the small residence “smelled like old, wet socks” and had “rickety, tattered furniture/ from a church basement.” As they settle into a rhythm—Papi painting houses and stocking shelves while Mami works at a laundromat and diner, and everyone pitches in domestically—the family remembers home through food: “cafe con leche with buttered/ toasts” and “beans/ and sofrito/ and plantains.” Soon, they open their home to Mami’s sister, Conchita, and her baby, who “had no other place to go,” and then to a family from Mexico, who had “ridden buses and trucks/ and walked for miles/ in search of a better life.” Colón’s signature art, which portrays individuals of varying skin tones, and gently revelatory prose by Catasús Jennings create a feeling of refuge in this gently bustling, expansive story about building home in a new place. Ages 4–8.

July 1, 2022
A "little house" is at the center of this story about generosity among members of an extended immigrant family and the stability they provide for one another. When Esperanza, her brother, and their parents emigrate from Cuba, they need a place to live that "doesn't cost too much money." They find la casita. "Even though they were far from home, the family was together. They were safe. They were happy in la casita." In an economical and sensory-rich text, Jennings describes the family's new life in the U.S. Esperanza's parents each work two jobs, and she and her brother have responsibilities around the house. "After work and after school," la casita holds "the scrumptious smells of beans and sofrito and plantains -- the memories of home bubbling in Mami's pots." Relatives arrive from Cuba, and later a family from Mexico: "La casita offered a home for those who didn't have a place to go." Colon's (Imagine!, rev. 9/18) signature crosshatched drawings bring out the house's character. His watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations in a palette of muted greens, blues, and oranges show the many roles la casita plays as it evolves, expanding to become a haven for hope. In her author's note, Jennings shares her own immigrant family's experiences. Simultaneously published in Spanish as La casita de esperanza. Lettycia Terrones

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2022
A "little house" is at the center of this story about generosity among members of an extended immigrant family and the stability they provide for one another. When Esperanza, her brother, and their parents emigrate from Cuba, they need a place to live that "doesn't cost too much money." They find la casita. "Even though they were far from home, the family was together. They were safe. They were happy in la casita." In an economical and sensory-rich text, Jennings describes the family's new life in the U.S. Esperanza's parents each work two jobs, and she and her brother have responsibilities around the house. "After work and after school," la casita holds "the scrumptious smells of beans and sofrito and plantains -- the memories of home bubbling in Mami's pots." Relatives arrive from Cuba, and later a family from Mexico: "La casita offered a home for those who didn't have a place to go." Colon's (Imagine!, rev. 9/18) signature crosshatched drawings bring out the house's character. His watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations in a palette of muted greens, blues, and oranges show the many roles la casita plays as it evolves, expanding to become a haven for hope. In her author's note, Jennings shares her own immigrant family's experiences. Simultaneously published in Spanish as La casita de esperanza.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)