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Eight Days (A Story of Haiti) by Edwidge Danticat (Illustrated by Alix Delinois)

Reviewed by: Chris Singer

About the author:

Edwidge Danticat was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and moved to the United States when she was twelve years old. She published her first pieces of literary work just two years later. Edwidge has written many award-winning books, including Breath, Eyes, Memory (an Oprah’s Book Club Selection); Krik? Krak! (a National Book Award finalist); The Farming of Bones (an American Book Award winner); and Brother, I’m Dying (a National Book Critics Circle Award winner). She was a 2009 MacArthur Fellow. Edwidge lives with her family in Miami, Florida.

About the illustrator:

Alix Delinois was born in Saint Marc, Haiti and moved to Harlem with his family when he was seven years old. He recently illustrated Walter Dean Myer’s stunning biography of Muhammad Ali. He received his BFA in illustration from Pratt Institute in 2003 and a Master’s degree in Art Education in 2009. He lives and works in New York City.

About the book:

Highly acclaimed author Edwidge Danticat elegantly tells us the story of Junior, a seven-year-old boy trapped beneath his house after the Port-au-Prince earthquake, and his joyous rescue. Junior’s sparkling imagination helps him find the strength to survive.

My take on the book:

Eight Days tells the story of Junior, a seven-year-old boy trapped beneath his house after the Port-au-Prince earthquake. After Junior is rescued, everyone asks him how he survived. His answer: “I was brave, I told them, but when the earth shook again and again, I was afraid. And sometimes I cried, because I missed Manman and Papa and my little sister, Justine. But in my mind, I played.”

Junior’s imagination helps him survive and pass the time of those eight days by revisiting scenes of playing marbles and hide-and-seek with his friends, helping Papa sweep up the hair in his barbershop, and fulfilling his dream of singing a choir solo in church. Most of the days depict Junior having fun with his siblings and best friend Oscar. That is until the fifth day when Oscar goes to sleep and never wakes up. “That was the day I cried” says Junior, and I cried along with him in one of the more poignant moments in the book.

The accompanying illustrations throughout the story by Alix Delinois are incredibly beautiful and vivid, much like Junior’s imagination. For me, I was most struck by the artwork first before even reading the words. There&rsq

Today we welcome James Webb to the PaperTigers blog. James works for ShelterBox, a charity based in the UK that delivers survival boxes, each containing a tent and other life-saving equipment, in the immediate aftermath of disasters around the world. The signature green box has become an iconic presence in such situations, with hundreds of thousands of people receiving crucial assistance in many different countries.

This year is ShelterBox’s 10th anniversary: to celebrate they have set up a 10-month Challenge with UK scouts. Little Brother is taking part in this with Cubs and I have got to know much more about the charity, as a Cub Leader. We are hoping to raise enough money to pay for a whole box so that we will be able to track “our” box to its destination…

When James, one of the Scout Challenge coordinators, emailed to say that he was about to leave for Haiti, I asked if he would send us a few words on his return: and I’m so glad he did as I didn’t know about their Classrooms in a Box before. Thank you, James; over to you:

When I was deployed to Haiti in mid April as a ShelterBox Response Team member, I was shocked by the level of destruction still evident in the country over three months after the earthquake devastated the country. Rubble is still everywhere and there are still thousands of people desperately in need of shelter.

While ShelterBox specialise in emergency shelter, we also send Classrooms in a Box which help children continue their education and provide some sort of normality for people who otherwise have lost everything.

In my 12 days in country I visited two schools which were each severely damaged by the earthquake, leaving them dangerous to use. One of these schools was operating from a large tent instead which had very little access to basic materials such as pencils and notepads. We immediately provided the school with another large tent and are planning on giving them a number of children’s packs which will each contain a small blackboard, note pads, crayons, pens, rubbers and a number of other items.

So much has been affected in Haiti but the people’s attitude is still inspiringly positive. Having the opportunity to make a difference by providing shelter and basic materials was a huge privilege and the experience of a lifetime.

The photos show smiling children who have just received the children’s pack – and if you watch this video, you can see what an oasis these packs provide (not to mention the incredible journeys the boxes often go through to reach their destinations). “For children who have lost most, if not all, their possessions, these small gifts are treasured.”