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Welcome to this post featuring a middle grade and children’s book review

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

• Concept — In this futuristic novel, Petra Pena and her family are among the few chosen to escape Earth, which a comet has devastated. All Petra wants to become is a cuentista, a storyteller like her “Lita” (abuelita). Now she must enter an interstellar ship to travel to a new planet to continue humanity. She and the other chosen passengers will be put into a deep sleep for the centuries-long journey while generations of other human monitors will maintain them until they reach their destination. During the journey, she subconsciously learns her assigned scientific role and secretly the stories of Earth. However, when she awakes, she finds that only a few of the passengers have been successfully awakened by their monitors who have instituted the thinking of the Collective–a group who pushed to abandon the knowledge of Earth’s history to begin humanity anew by erasing the memories of Earth. Only Petra retains these memories, and she must tread carefully to avoid the monitors discovering this or risk being purged as most of the other passengers awakened before her.
• My Take — I enjoyed this middle-grade dystopian novel. As with any post-apocalyptic work, those left behind, or in this case, sent on to a new planet to colonize face internal questions of why they are chosen as the representations of humanity to begin again. They are chosen for their skills, knowledge, and healthy physical conditions. Petra, technically, should not be chosen to go because she has a vision impairment that will eventually make her blind; however, her parents hide her condition. The story emphasizes family and community through storytelling. Family stories that link generations and the history and literature that link societies. Why are our stories, positive or negative, needed for those to follow us? Petra has an answer for you.
• Reviews & Recommendations — Higuera won the Newbery and Pura Belpre medals for the novel. These honors make it a solid recommendation for a classroom library middle-grade and up. School Library Journal recommends the novel for grade 5 and up, which matches the recommendation of Common Sense Media of 10+. Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Shelf Awareness all give it starred reviews.

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• Concept — This book is part of the I Am series. The story is told through a series of phrases about who we are. The statements acknowledge positive and negative feelings that are part of each of us, validating that feelings of fear or regret are normal too and can be dealt with in healthy ways.
• My Take — I first used this book with my high school students after our schools moved to virtual instruction to finish the 2019-2020 school year. I read it aloud during our first virtual session because it addressed fear and strength. During the next few years, I used it as an introductory read-aloud for my students in AP English Language & Composition to begin our first unit, Individual and American Identity.
• Reviews & Recommendations: The messages of children’s books can often provide a positive or reflective moment even in the secondary levels. I would include this book in an elementary classroom library. School Library Journal recommends it for preschool through Grade 3, and Common Sense Media recommends it for ages 5+.
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