Islandborn

Lola's class in school is tasked with drawing a picture to show what they remember of the country from which they emigrated. Lola was a baby and remembers nothing. She talks with her teacher, who asks if anyone she knows can tell her. Lola thinks the whole neighborhood can tell her! The stories range from beautiful flowers to dolphins in the water to colorful houses/clothes/people to the bad storm right after Lola was born to the monster who took over the country until some brave people stopped "it". The monster, most assuredly, is Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship from 1930–1961. The bad storm was likely a hurricane, but I couldn't pinpoint a specific one. (of course, I had to do a little research on the DR to get my questions answered.) I love stories like this, where depending on the age of the child, the reader can delve into as much history as seems appropriate. The "monster" can be something as relatively tame as a monster in the closet or under the bed to a watered-down version of the man labeled the monster. Children need to know their backstories at some point, I believe.