Under the Royal Palms: A Childhood in Cuba

In ten short stories drawn from her own childhood, Alma Flor Ada returns to Camagüey, the Cuban city where she grew up in the years after World War II. She writes about her large extended family, her school days, a playful task of counting bats, and the gap between families with plenty and families with little, as when lost children are taken in and fed by a poor household. Some stories capture a single small moment, such as a drink of cool water from a clay pot, while others deal with loss in the family. Short explanations of history and local words help young readers picture the place and time. A companion to Where the Flame Trees Bloom, the book won the Pura Belpré Award for narrative.