Hope for Haiti

K-Gr 3—The young boy who narrates this story lives in a neighborhood that was destroyed by the 2010 earthquake. His family joins several others to set up makeshift housing in a soccer stadium. Before long, the children start playing soccer with a ball made of rags. Their high spirits in the face of disaster are rewarded when a man offers them a real soccer ball signed by Manno Sanon, a beloved Haitian player. Using concise but rhythmic language, this inspiring tale is told in a simple and straightforward manner. The pictures, acrylic paintings with bold colors and strong lines, are attractive and accessible but not especially distinctive. Edwidge Danticat's Eight Days: A Story of Haiti (Scholastic, 2010) is also about the earthquake, and it is more artistic but darker in tone. Some proceeds from both books are donated to relief efforts. Overall, this is a didactic but worthwhile book.—Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL