By Deborah Duncan
Coquitlam Public Library

Haiti has had more than its share of troubles over the years, but the spirit and culture of the people are inspiring.  There are many books that share Haiti’s vibrant culture with children.  Running The Road to ABC by Denize Lauture portrays the dawn start to the schoolchildren’s day, as they quickly eat and sing on their long trip through the busy village streets to the tiny country school.  Tap-Tap, by Karen Lynn Williams captures the excitement of market day as a small girl and her mother carry baskets of fruit on their heads to sell.  The brightly decorated tap-taps are small trucks which double as buses, and are an integral part of Haitian life.  Williams has also written Circles of Hope, about a boy who wants to plant a tree to welcome his new baby sister.  The tree keeps dying, until he learns to build a circle of stones around it for protection against rain and animals.

In Josias, Hold the Book by Jennifer R. Elvgren, we meet a young rural child who farms with his family rather than going to school.  Plants which have thrived before no longer grow on his family’s plot.  When teacher shows them a book about soil erosion, his family makes the effort to send him to school. All cultures have their trickster.  In Please, Malese, neighbours are tricked out of clothing and food by the clever Malese.  The beautiful illustrations present Haitian life in all its colour.

Edwidge Danticat is the best-known Haitian-American writer. In the teen novel Behind the Mountains, two teens and their mother have stayed behind in Haiti while their father supports the family from New York.  This is a common story to Haitians, as many survive on remittances sent by relatives overseas.  When the violence becomes too much, the family is reunited in the U.S, but the transition is not easy for anyone.  This theme also infuses her Oprah Book Club title Breath, Eyes, Memory. Young Sophie joins her family in New York, where the culture shock leads to a rebellious adolescence.  She returns to Haiti, to reconcile with the women of her family.  In The Dew Breaker, we meet a former torturer, his brutality now hidden beneath a new American identity.  The story unfolds back and forth from Haiti in the 1960’s to present day New York.  In 2004, Danticat’s elderly uncle was forced to leave Haiti.  He met his death at the hands of U.S. immigration officials, and she tells his tragic story in Brother, I’m Dying.  Haiti borders the much wealthier Dominican Republic, which receives a good number of Canadian tourists.  In The Farming of Bones, Danticat explores the uneasy relationship between illegal Haitian workers and their D.R. bosses.  

Vodoun is a state religion in Haiti.  Slaves brought their African beliefs to the new land, and it flourishes today beside Christianity.  Wade Davis’ book The Serpent and the Rainbow is a scientific and personal exploration of this aspect of Haitian culture, and makes fascinating reading.

These and other books about Haiti are available at your local library.