From the Bookshelves: Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation by Edwidge Danticat
Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation by Edwidge Danticat
Release date: September 1, 2015
A touching tale of parent-child separation and immigration, from a National Book Award finalist
After Saya’s mother is sent to an immigration detention center, Saya finds comfort in listening to her mother’s warm greeting on their answering machine. To ease the distance between them while she’s in jail, Mama begins sending Saya bedtime stories inspired by Haitian folklore on cassette tape. Moved by her mother’s tales and her father’s attempts to reunite their family, Saya writes a story of her own—one that just might bring her mother home for good. With stirring illustrations, this tender tale shows the human side of immigration and imprisonment—and shows how every child has the power to make a difference.
Danticat was born in Haiti. When she was two, her father immigrated to New York, to be followed two years later by her mother Rose. This left Danticat and her younger brother to be raised by her aunt and uncle. Although her formal education in Haiti was in French, she spoke Haitian Creole at home. While in Haiti, Danticat began writing. At age 12, she moved to Brooklyn to join her parents in a heavily Haitian American neighborhood. Edwidge’s disorientation to her new surroundings was a source of discomfort for her, and she turned to literature for solace.
KJ