Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Books for very young children, children’s picture books & activity books

MAMA'S NIGHTINGALE

Edwidge Danticat Leslie Staub

A Story of Immigration and Separation

A touching tale of parent-child separation and immigration, from a National Book Award finalist.

After Saya's mother is sent to an immigration detention center, Saya finds comfort in listening to her mother's warm greeting on their answering machine. To ease the distance between them while she’s in jail, Mama begins sending Saya bedtime stories inspired by Haitian folklore on cassette tape. Moved by her mother's tales and her father's attempts to reunite their family, Saya writes a story of her own—one that just might bring her mother home for good.

With stirring illustrations, this tender tale shows the human side of immigration and imprisonment—and shows how every child has the power to make a difference.

Edwidge Danticat was born in Haiti and came to the United States when she was twelve years old. Her books have been selected for Oprah’s Book Club and have been twice nominated for the National Book Award. In 2009 Edwidge received a MacArthur Genius Grant. She lives in Miami, Florida.

Leslie Staub is a children's book author and illustrator from New Orleans, LA. She works in her studio in the country north of there with her dog, Rabbit, and all the wild creatures who live in the woods.

Available products
Book Published 2015-09-01 by Dial Books for Young Readers
Book Published 2015-09-01 by Dial Books for Young Readers

Comments

This is a powerfully important story, beautifully told.

A brave tale for children about the real-life struggles many families face.

Skillfully written with Creole words sprinkled into the English, Mama’s Nightingale is richly illuminated by Leslie Staub’s oil paintings evoking Haitian folk art.

This heart-wrenching story has been beautifully written and illustrated...The illustrations in oil paint are ethereal and dreamlike, depicting the feelings of the characters perfectly. This is an excellent addition to collections to support diversity; it is a must-have, supporting the idea that families can stick together, and that love and perseverance can overcome many things.

A must-read both for children who live this life of forced separation and those who don't.

Danticat's celebration of storytelling and the bond between mother and child is an empowering one. Saya, whose mother is being detained, writes a story inspired by her mother's experience. When her father sends Saya's story to a newspaper, she learns firsthand that one voice, one story, can make a difference.

Sun-Sentinel (1.2 million visitors/month) reported on Edwidge Danticat’s visit to a classroom to support Mama’s Nightingale! Read more...

A tender story about immigration and its impact on families. Vividly illustrated by Leslie Straub...

[Danticat] beautifully conveys a story about loss and grief and hope and joy.

Children of parents who are being detained will becomforted by knowing they are not the only ones facing this challenge and mighteven be inspired to take action the way Saya does.

A serious yet hopeful story...readers similarly separated from a loved one may well find solace in Danticat’s honest storytelling.

Love that Danticat makes this story so personal. It's hard to read this and not relate to the family in the story. May today's politicians listen to young voices like the reporter does in this story.

Danticat’s immigration story is compelling...The inclusion of Haitian phrases adds to thepersonal nature of the story, whose happy ending is deserved by all.

It's lovely-poetic, sprinkled with mellifluous Creole words. It too talks about the power of storytelling to soothe and rescue. The art, by New Orleans-based illustrator Leslie Staub, is painterly, folkloric, full of flowers and stars and leaves and birds...

Kids will be fascinated by Saya's story and inspired by the way she helps her mom. The illustrations are beautiful, with bold colors and symbols from Mama's stories woven into the pictures of the family.