Islandborn

Powell's Picks of the Month

Hot new releases and under-the-radar gems for adults and kids.

Bravo to Junot Díaz on his first children's book, Islandborn! Lola and her city dwelling classmates are tasked with creating images from the far-off lands they come from — the only problem is Lola doesn't remember her island. She enlists the help of family, friends, and neighbors, encouraging her community to both reminisce and reckon with memories, both fond and frightening, of their beloved island. Leo Espinosa's vibrant and colorful illustrations bring the island alive both in the bustling city and for Lola. "Memories are magic": Lyrically written, Díaz reminds us that memory connects us to our communities and our pasts. Recommended By Kate L., Powells.com

From New York Times bestseller and Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Díaz comes a debut picture book about the magic of memory and the infinite power of the imagination.

Every kid in Lola’s school was from somewhere else.
Hers was a school of faraway places.

So when Lola’s teacher asks the students to draw a picture of where their families immigrated from, all the kids are excited. Except Lola. She can’t remember The Island—she left when she was just a baby. But with the help of her family and friends, and their memories — joyous, fantastical, heartbreaking, and frightening — Lola’s imagination takes her on an extraordinary journey back to The Island. As she draws closer to the heart of her family’s story, Lola comes to understand the truth of her abuela’s words: "Just because you don’t remember a place doesn’t mean it’s not in you."

Gloriously illustrated and lyrically written, Islandborn is a celebration of creativity, diversity, and our imagination’s boundless ability to connect us — to our families, to our past and to ourselves.

"With his tenacious, curious heroine and a voice that’s chatty, passionate, wise, and loving, Díaz entices readers to think about a fundamental human question: what does it mean to belong?" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Junot Díaz was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New Jersey. He is author of the critically acclaimed Drown; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award; and This is How You Lose Her, a New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist. He is the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship, PEN/Malamud Award, Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, and PEN/O. Henry Award. A graduate of Rutgers College, Diaz is currently the fiction editor at Boston Review, and the Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor of Writing at MIT.