Islandborn
Written by Junot Diaz
Illustrated by Leo Espinoza

This book is a masterpiece of imagery centered around a sweet young girl named Lola. When her teacher, Ms. Obi, gives an assignment at school and asks students to draw a picture about the country in which they are from, Lola is bewildered. She immediately realizes that she was far too young to remember anything about the Island since they left when she was very young. With the guidance of Ms. Obi, Lola resolves to ask everyone she knows from neighbors to family members if they have useful memories of the homeland to support her completion of this important task. What she discovers is that along with many innocent and pleasant recollections, her inquiries also surface some somber feelings and painful memories.

This would be a great book to use with students while studying metaphors. The author, Junot Diaz, skillfully incorporates them while Lola is soliciting ideas from friends, family and neighbors in order to complete her assignment. I also think this would be very interesting to elementary students of all ages, as it could easily be implemented in a unit of study that involves celebrating diversity or the heritage of the class make up. An added bonus is playfully sprinkled nouns in Spanish for students who could possibly make connections to a home language.

One final note, admittedly, with my own minimal background of the history of the Dominican Republic, I had unanswered questions about the meaning of the text. I located this 7 minute MPR podcast of Junot Diaz being interviewed. It provided significant information leading to my own better understanding of the final metaphor (the monster) of the story. Before reading this book to your students, I'd encourage you listen. It will provide you with insight and help you prepare questions to foster critical thinking in your students.   


https://www.npr.org/2018/03/12/591732716/in-junot-diazs-islandborn-a-curious-child-recreates-her-dominican-roots