Reaching for the Sun: Kids in Cuba Book

Details the experiences of a group of children from a Los Angeles creative arts organization who traveled to Cuba to write and perform a play with a Cuban children's theater ...

Janice DeLong - Children's Literature

Readers experience Cuba through the eyes of a ten-year-old girl, Angie Espinoza who spends a month working and touring with a children's theater group. The project was a cooperative effort of Equal Opportunities Productions (EqOp) from Los Angeles, and La Colmenita (Little Beehive), the Cuban host. During the month stay, the children write and perform a play that culminates at the National Theater of Cuba in Havana. When they are not rehearsing, the young actors tour the local area and what they discover forms the text of this lavishly illustrated volume. Strong friendships reach across cultural lines as the students from both countries trade clothes, sing songs and dance to the salsa music of Cuba, and rap from America. Costumes created by the students and mentors are sometimes made from borrowed cast-offs of generous neighbors. Both art and strong friendships are created in the process. When the final production comes, parents from both Los Angeles and Cuba eagerly watch as their children demonstrate that people really are the same everywhere. The essence of what is learned in this project is dramatically portrayed in the grand finale as the children reach across and grasp hands with each other, instead of reaching for the sun. 2003, The Millbrook Press,