Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings
Written by Francie Latour
Illustrated by Ken Daley
Published by Groundwood Books
Every winter, a young girl flies to Haiti to visit her Auntie Luce, a painter. The moment she steps off the plane, she feels a wall of heat, and familiar sights soon follow the boys selling water ice by the pink cathedral, the tap tap buses in the busy streets, the fog and steep winding road to her aunt’s home in the mountains. The girl has always loved Auntie Luce’s paintings the houses tucked into the hillside, colorful fishing boats by the water, heroes who fought for and won the country’s independence. Through Haiti’s colors, the girl comes to understand this place her family calls home. And when the moment finally comes to have her own portrait painted for the first time, she begins to see herself in a new way, tracing her own history and identity through her aunt’s brush.
Look for the Haitian Creole edition, Koze Penti Ak Tati Luce (Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings).
Primary ISBN: 9781773060415
Publication Date: October 2018
Available As: Hardcover
Picture Book, Age 05 or older
Community Represented: Haitian/Haitian American
Themes: Accolades & Awards: Starred Review, Event: MCSTOYA Connects: Migration Reads, Generation: 1st, Identity: Multiracial, IYNB Recommends: ASCA School Counselors 2026, IYNB Recommends: Justice & Belonging, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Setting: Home Country, Welcoming Library: Core Picture Books (Current), Welcoming Library: Pine Collection
Setting: Haiti
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: 1st Generation
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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