April 2023 - Page 10 of 15

Our Roof Is Blue
by Sara E. Echenique (Author) and Ashley Vargas (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Before Hurricane Maria destroys their home in Puerto Rico, Antonio told his sister vibrant stories each night. During the storm, they huddled with their parents in a closet and hear the storm blow the roof right off their home. After the storm, their family uses a temporary blue tarp for a roof, and Antonio stops speaking. Gradually the siblings imagine their blue roof playfully–as the ocean above them or a parachute helping them fall from the sky. As the narrator helps her little brother feel safe once more–and after the family and community build a new roof–the little boy begins to speak again.

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Also available in Spanish as Nuestro techo es azul @ Amazon | Bookshop

A Sweet Meeting on Mimouna Night
by Allison Ofanansky (Author) and Rotem Teplow (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: It’s Mimouna — the Moroccan Jewish holiday that marks the end of Passover, and when blessings are given for a year of prosperity and good luck. Miriam wants to help her mother make the sweet moufletot pancakes (moufleta) they always eat at their Mimouna party, but after following the rules of Passover, they don’t have any flour in the house! So Miriam’s mother takes her to visit their Muslim neighbors, who are happy to share.

The women drink tea together, and Miriam makes friends with a young girl named Jasmine. Miriam almost drops the bag of flour when she and Jasmine go to fetch it from the storeroom — but luckily Jasmine is there to catch it! Jasmine and her family then join Miriam’s family and friends to celebrate Mimouna.

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