THE LITTLE HOUSE OF HOPE: IMMIGRANT WELCOMING & BELONGING ACTIVITIES
Best Users: Educators, Public Librarians, School Librarians, After School Programs, Home Learning
Best Audience: Children Grades 03-07
ABOUT THE ENGAGEMENT TOOLS
The Little House of Hope by Terry Catasús Jennings and illustrated by Raúl Colón (Holiday House) is a semi-autobiographical Cuban American picture book about making a home in a new country—and then opening that home to others. To support engagement with this title, we share the work of Curious City’s sister nonprofit I’m Your Neighbor Books. The organization categorizes, curates, and shares children’s literature set in our New Arrival and New Generation immigrant communities.
Families came and
families went.
Esperanza was always the first to welcome them.
La casita offered a home for those who didn’t
have a place to go.
It was a safe place, in a new land.
Read Aloud
Watch Terry Catasús Jennings read aloud from the picture book.
Discussion Questions
Written to address the perspectives of both new arrival and long-term Americans, these questions open conversations on welcoming and belonging.
VIEW & DOWNLOAD (PDF)
Source: I’m Your Neighbor Books
Math Activities
These math activities invite us to explore the affordability of renting a house while working a minimum-wage job. The activities also ask us to add up the benefits provided to officially resettled refugees.
VIEW & DOWNLOAD (PDF)
Source: I’m Your Neighbor Books
Cuban Recipes from the Author’s Family
Whether you have a big house or a small house or just a house full of hope, you can cook the Cuban food that Terry Catasús Jennings and her extended family cooked in their la casita.
VIEW & DOWNLOAD (PDF)
Source: I’m Your Neighbor Books
Educator’s Guide
Holiday House has also provided classroom activities.
VIEW & DOWNLOAD (PDF)
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Little House of Hope
Written by Terry Catasús Jennings
Illustrated by Raúl Colón
Published by Holiday House
When Esperanza and her family arrive in the United States from Cuba, they rent a little house, una casita. It may be small, but they soon prove that there’s room enough to share with a whole community.
As Esperanza and her family settle into their new house, they all do their part to make it a home. When other immigrant families need a place to stay, it seems only natural for the family in la casita to help. Together they turn the house into a place where other new immigrants can help one another. Esperanza is always the first to welcome them to la casita. It’s a safe place in a new land.
Terry Catasus Jennings first came from Cuba to the U.S. in 1961, when she was twelve years old. With The Little House of Hope, she tells an inspiring, semi-autobiographical story of how immigrants can help each other find their footing in a new country.
Look for the Spanish edition, La casita de esperanza.
Colón’s signature art…and gently revelatory prose by Catasús Jennings create a feeling of refuge in this gently bustling, expansive story about building home in a new place.”
—Publishers Weekly
THE GIVEAWAY
I’m Your Neighbor Books is inviting educators & librarians to enter to win 1 of 20 copies of The Little House of Hope with their signature Discussion Questions embedded in the end papers. Winners announced (by institution) on 10/27/22 by 3:00 PM EST.
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