Reaching for the Sun, Kids in Cuba Photographer: Cindy Karp Description "Cuba, at last!" Twelve-year-old Angie had been waiting months to see Cuba. When Angie left Los Angelos with a group of kids for a trip to Cuba, everyone knew they were going someplace different. But none of them knew much about Cuba, or the kids there were to spend the summer with, writing and performing in a play. What they discovered – about Cuba, the Cuban kids, and themselves – is that there are things we all have in common , and there are ways to get along, and that if we open our eyes and our hearts we can be changed forever. Excerpt The audience gave them a standing ovation. They knew something special had happened during that month, both on and off the stage. They knew they Cuba would be different because of the kids, and the kids would be different because of Cuba. When the big paper sun rose over the stage at the end of the play, the kids were supposed to reach their hands up toward it, as if to touch it. But instead of reaching for the sun, they reached for each other, and touched each other’s hands. Then, grabbing tight, together they took their final bows. Outside the theater, Angie took a deep breath. ‘This is Cuba,’ she thought. She felt she was leaving part of her soul in Cuba to mix with everyone else’s soul. ‘Some things come from your head and some things come from your heart,’ she thought, ‘and now I know Cuba both ways.’ Reviews "One of the few books about contemporary Cuba… The focus is on strangers getting to know one another, and anyone who has been part of a play will recognize the exhilaration and the bonding." "I love this book! It tells a disarmingly beautiful story and I hope that millions of children get to read it." |
