Written by Ruth Behar, Illustrated by Devon Holzwarth
El Nuevo Hogar de Tía Fortuna is a touching story about change and family. A young girl goes to visit her Jewish Cuban aunt in Miami. Her aunt tells her that she is moving. She tells the little girl, Estrella, about the home that she left in Cuba, how she felt so lost and shed many tears, but was able to make Seaway her home. Her aunt takes her to see the beach and build sand castles one last time. The little girl is sad that the sandcastles would be swept away and gone by the next day and the aunt tells her, “It is not yet tomorrow, let us enjoy today”. Estrella helps her aunt bake one last time and pack everything and lock up. At the end her aunt puts her big brass key on a cord and puts it in her pocket, along with the key from her original home in Cuba. They take her aunt to an old folks home and she is able to meet new people, even one from Cuba. As Estrella is leaving, her aunt gives her the key from her home in Seaway and she tells her that the key, just like the one she keeps from Cuba, will help her to remember the sound of the sea, the smell of the salt in the air and she will be able to see her grandpas and grandmas from long ago that traveled from other countries and always had to make new homes.
This will be a great book to add to our Spanish picture book section in my elementary school library. The children will enjoy the bright whimsical pictures and the story of Tia Fortuna.
Reviewed by Heather B Arauzo, Librarian, Granger Elementary
Review shared in June 2022
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 2-5
El Nuevo Hogar de Tía Fortuna
Written by Ruth Behar, Illustrated by Devon Holzwarth
Alfred A. Knopf
32 pages
Release Date: January 25, 2022
ISBN: 9780593381069
Yes-A review copy was provided by the publisher.
