Bare feet, brown grass, emptying the chamber pots and walking down the ravine to get water are the bits and pieces of Serafina's day. It's her job to help Manman and Gogo with all of the chores.
Manman is expecting a baby and her mind is filled with worries. It's Papa with his wonderful smiles and warm, loving heart who listens to Serafina when she needs to tell him her dreams. More than anything Serafina wants to go to school so she can grow up to become a doctor just like the woman doctor who came to their home to try to save little Pierre, Serafins's other little baby brother who did not survive.
Serafina's world is the scrubby, gritty landscape of Haiti. Everyday Papa walks and walks to his job at the supermarket. Every day Serafina struggles to bring water back for her family and wishes with all of her heart that she could be sitting in a classroom learning French and rising to her true place.
Nature has some harsh lessons to hand the people of Haiti as they fight to keep food in their mouths. This is a place where the rumble of an empty stomach is commonplace.
Told in flowing free verse that urges you forward as Serafina and her family face obstacle after obstacle this is a story about family, friendship, and above all Serafina's discover that it is love she holds inside and this love will carry her on to dedicate herself and her natural gifts to taking care of those in need.
Ages 10-14 295 pages 978-0545535649
Recommended by: Barb, abookandahug.com
