Eight Days

August 30, 2010
Haitian-born author Danticat (Behind the Mountains) offers an uplifting story, told in the ingenuous voice of Junior, a boy pulled from the rubble of his former home eight days after the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince in January 2010. Looking back, he acknowledges that he was afraid when “the earth shook again and again,” but relied on his imagination and memories to survive. In loose, emotive, mixed-media illustrations, Delinois (Muhammad Ali: The People’s Champion) chronicles the joyful, daily reminiscences that Junior clings to each day, instead of portraying the damage caused by the earthquake. “On the morning of the third day, I teased Justine by pulling her pigtails,” reads Junior’s imagining as Delinois shows the siblings running through their bright and cheerful home. Despite the upbeat imagery and focus on the close bonds Junior shares with his family and friends, harsh reality surfaces, too, as Junior imagines playing soccer with his best friend. “Oscar felt really tired and went to sleep. He never woke up. That was the day I cried.” It’s a moving celebration of hope, determination, and resilience. Ages 4–7.

Starred review from August 15, 2010
Composed in the wake of the devastating earthquake of January 2010, this inspired child's-eye view will leave no reader or listener unmoved. Asked whether he was sad or afraid during the eight days he was buried in rubble, a young victim explains how he survived: "In my mind, I played," with kites and marbles on the first day, games of hide-and-seek on the second, at home or in school or out in the fields on other days—with his friend Oscar who was buried with him but who on the fifth day "...never woke up. That was the day I cried"—and also with his parents and little sister who, thankfully, were there to greet him when he was rescued: "I tell you, I hugged them so tight I thought I would never let go." Using rich acrylics and thick brushwork, Delinois (Haiti-born, like the author) creates active, emotionally charged playscapes from which the narrator often looks up gravely, making steady eye contact with viewers as if to say: I am strong enough for this. Danticat closes this powerful, affirmative statement with an eloquent author's note. Whew! (Picture book. 7-11)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

November 1, 2010

Gr 2-5-Focusing on one child who survived the 2010 disaster in Haiti, this beautiful and touching picture book is a true testament to the spirit of the people of this nation. A seven-year-old boy (only identified as Junior on the flap copy) was pulled from under his home eight days after the earthquake. He and his best friend, Oscar, were home alone. When he was asked if he'd been afraid, he answered, "I missed Manman and Papa...in my mind, I played." Often the text starts with "On the first day (second, third) and shows his "playing" with his friends. On the fifth day, Oscar went to sleep and never woke up. On the eighth day, Junior was rescued and reunited with his family. The illustrations, done in acrylic paint, pastel crayons, and collage, are bold, realistic, and bright. There are moments that the pictures almost convince readers that the youngster is really playing with his friends. They are vibrant and share the beauty of the country, not the destruction. In an endnote the Haitian-born author writes of the children of Haiti, her feelings when she learned of the earthquake, and her fears about her family still living there.-Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2010
Grades K-3 After his miraculous rescue in the earthquake in Haiti, Junior, seven, tells his survival story of being trapped beneath rubble for eight days. Both the author and illustrator were born in Haiti and have close ties there, and their moving storytelling personalizes the dramatic news stories of the disaster with a close-up, fictionalized narrative of one childs experience. In the opening scene, Junior stands before the cameras and remembers how he coped during his ordeal. Beautiful, bright artwork, in acrylics, pastel, and collage, shows how his memories and imagination kept him alive, as he revisits scenes of playing soccer with his friends, helping Papa in his barbershop, racing on his bicycle with his sister, and fulfilling his dream of singing solo in church. The narratives powerful rhythm echoes the Genesis Creation story, giving it even more gravity: On the first day I flew my kite. . . . On the second day . . . Never too sentimental, the story works because of the clear presence of great sadness and loss.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2011
A boy buried in the Port-au-Prince rubble imagines doing things he loves on each of eight days awaiting rescue. These include flying kites and playing soccer; on the sad fifth day, though, his best friend, also trapped, dies. Every double-page spread is filled with deep acrylic strokes as bright as the tropics, with the boy's hopeful eyes looking directly at readers.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2010
In Danticat's story, written in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, a little boy buried in the Port-au-Prince rubble imagines something different on each of the eight days he spends awaiting rescue. On the first day, Junior flies kites and plays marbles with his best friend Oscar, who was with him when the quake hit. On the second day, he and Oscar play hide-and-seek and surprise Junior's sister and parents. Junior spends each day doing the things he loves, even the sad fifth day when Oscar succumbs to death (after playing soccer, "Oscar felt really tired and went to sleep. He never woke up. That was the day I cried"). Every full-bleed spread is filled with deep acrylic strokes as bright as the tropics, with the boy's hopeful eyes looking directly at the reader. American children, whose images of Haiti have been shaped by television, will be amazed by the lush, rain-drenched mountain scenes and surprised by all the fun that the children have. Earthquakes, death, and terror are tricky subjects for a picture book, but Danticat's child's-eye view of this tragedy is neither trite nor bathed in sadness. It is the story of one Haitian child and all Haitian children who love their country and want the rest of us to know its beauty. Perfect for the youngest child curious to learn more about the world. robin l. smith

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)