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A young girl reflects on her father’s memories of Haiti.

Lune loves hearing Daddy’s stories of his homeland. He tells funny tales about falling out of a mango tree, insightful tales about the medicine man who knew just what sickly children needed, and poignant tales of a young boy dreaming of a new life. But now Daddy works extra shifts so the family can save up for a new house and so Daddy can send money back to relatives in Haiti. Lune stays up extra late one night and sees Daddy as he’s coming back, and he tells her a story before sending her back to bed. The next morning, inspired, Lune resolves to tell her own stories. Suffused with color, each page teems with life and verve, weaving stories together across place and time. Many of the tales begin with “lakay” (Haitian Creole for “back home”) or “krik!” “krak!” Some are tinged with sorrow, as when Daddy recalls his own father’s garden, before Hurricane Flora washed away the vegetables and flowers that grew there. Though Lune has never been to Haiti herself, Casimir and Daley make clear that stories have the power to transport; as Lune says, “It’s like we’re looking in a mirror that takes both of us back home.” Readers who have deep roots in a familial homeland they’ve never visited will feel buoyed.

A feast for the eyes and the spirit.