Alma Flor Ada

Cuentos con Alma

The eight titles that com­prise this Col­lec­tion include two dif­fer­ent kinds of books, five auto­bi­o­graph­i­cal books and three books of nar­ra­tive fiction.

So far the books have been pub­lished only in Spanish

Auto­bi­o­graph­i­cal books

illus­trated by Pablo Torrecilla

• Bar­quitos de papel
• Bar­riletes
• Días de circo
• Pin pin sarabín
• Pre­gones

The five auto­bi­o­graph­i­cal books are based on the author’s Cuban child­hood mem­o­ries, each one cen­tered on a par­tic­u­lar event. The lit­er­ary qual­ity of the text, writ­ten with a del­i­cate poetic prose, and the mag­nif­i­cent water­col­ors by Pablo Tor­recilla, make each book a true work of art. These sto­ries pro­vide an oppor­tu­nity to dis­cuss life expe­ri­ences, explore fam­ily and socio cul­tural val­ues, and inspire stu­dents and their par­ents to look at the world around them with a fresh and inquis­i­tive out­look. Each book is com­plete in itself, but when read together the books con­vey a fuller insight into the world the author portrays.

To know more about life in Cuba, fam­ily rela­tions, and social life and cus­toms in that impor­tant Caribbean island these books can be com­ple­mented with Where the Flame­trees Bloom, or Allá donde flo­re­cen los fram­boy­anes and the Pura Bel­pré Award-winning Under the Royal Palms or Bajo las pal­mas reales.

Nar­ra­tive Fic­tion Inde­pen­dent Books

The three fic­tion books have each a unique theme.

El vuelo de los col­i­bríes is the story of a Mex­i­can family’s immi­gra­tion to the United States.

El pañuelo se seda is an inspir­ing story of a child’s deter­mi­na­tion to save a wounded crane even at the expense of sac­ri­fic­ing some­thing dear to her.

El reino de la geometría is a whim­si­cal story, that uses geo­met­ri­cal shapes, to show the con­se­quences of dis­crim­i­na­tion and racism. A per­fect com­ple­ment to the book Friends or Ami­gos and the story “El cuadra­dito azul” from the book Explo­ramos.

VALUES AND THEMES PRESENTED IN THESE BOOKS

Val­ues

• Anti-racism: El reino de la geometría
• Dif­fer­ent point of view: Días de circo
• Fam­ily: Bar­quitos de papel, Bar­riletes, Pre­gones, El pañuelo de seda, El vuelo de los colibríes
• Equality/Inclusion: El reino de la geometría
• Gen­eros­ity: El pañuelo de seda
• Free­dom: El reino de la geometría
• Immi­gra­tion: El vuelo de los colibríes
• Social jus­tice: Pre­gones, El reino de la geometría
• Work, tenac­ity: El vuelo de los colibríes

Themes

• Ani­mals, birds: El pañuelo de seda
• Dis­crim­i­na­tion: El reino de la geometría
• Cir­cus: Días de circo
• Folk­lore: Pin pin sarabín
• Games, play: Bar­quitos de papel, Bar­riletes, Pin pin sarabín
• Geo­met­ri­cal shapes: El reino de la geometría
• Kites: Bar­riletes
• Nurs­ery rhymes: Pin pin sarabín
• Paper fold­ing: Bar­quitos de papel
• Ven­dors’ call­ing: Pre­gones