Parents' Guide to

All the Way to Havana

By Jan Carr, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Celebration of Cuban family and ingenuity has gorgeous art.

Book Margarita Engle Picture Book 2017
All the Way to Havana Poster Image

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What's the Story?

In ALL THE WAY TO HAVANA, a Cuban boy and his family travel from their rural Cuban village in their ramshackle mid-20th-century car to celebrate the "zero-year" birthday of a new baby cousin in Havana. But first they have to repair the "tired" engine that has "all the rattling parts that have been fixed with wire, tape, and mixed-up scraps of dented metal." The boy and dad tinker with the engine until they get it running, then take off on the road trip. After the family fiesta, they return home on dark roads under a bright moon, and the boy expresses his affection for their car.

Is It Any Good?

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Folks on both sides of the political aisle who admire the vibrancy of the Cuban people will relish this warm family story about a road trip to Havana to celebrate the birth of a new baby cousin. All the Way to Havana paints a picture of a rural Cuban family and their inventive ingenuity in keeping their pre-Cuban Revolution 1954 Chevy running. Author Margarita Engle plays with sounds in the rural village where baby chicks chirp "pío pío," and the rickety car engine sputters "cara cara." Embedded in her story are lessons about a society that's not endlessly disposable and that enjoys life's simple pleasures.

Illustrator Mike Curato traveled to Cuba to research the art, and it shows. The family, retro cars, and street scenes are lovingly rendered using a combination of pencil drawing, painting, and textures added from photos. He is as skilled at depicting the stately old buildings of the capital as he is the warm brown faces of the Cuban people, making this a beautiful, nearly keepsake portrait of the colorful island nation.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the ingenuity of the family in All the Way to Havana. What does your family do when mechanical things break? Do you ever try to fix what's broken or do you more often buy new items to replace them?

  • Why do you think Cuba has so many old cars and no new ones? What do you know about the political history of Cuba?

  • What language do people speak in Cuba? Can you find examples of that language in the text and in the art?

Book Details

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