At first I found this book to be a little bit confusing because it starts by introducing a young boy who was just found in rubble eight days after the 2010 Haitian earthquake but then transitions to stories and images of the boy playing with his family and friends. The first time I read this book, I did not realize that the boy was trapped alone and playing memories and imaginary games in his head as he waited to be rescued. Once I read it again, however, I understood that this was introduced when the boy states, "I was scared, and sometimes I cried, because I missed [my family]. But in my mind, I played" (1). By describing the memories and imaginary games in the boys head, I thought the author did a lovely job at presenting some aspects of Haitian culture. For example, the boy describes a game of marbles between he and his friend which later brought together "all the kids in the neighborhood," presenting the value of community (2). Readers definitely get a better understanding of this culture by reading this book and I think that is why it is an overall good book to read to a class. Not only does it introduce readers to an underrepresented culture, but it does so with the message of 'although tragedy stretch this county, you can see that this community is strong enough to rebuild from this.' ( )

This is a multi-cultural book about the earthquake in Haiti that happened a few years ago. I would use this book in a social studies classroom if talking about geography, or Haiti, or world wide news. One could also use this book in a science classroom if students were learning about earthquakes. An educator could use this book in an english classroom to talk about making lists, understanding a chain of reactions, or to study how writers depict emotion through the words of the character's. This book could be used in a first, second, third, fourth, or fifth grade classroom.

Seven-year-old Junior uses the power of his imagination to survive the horrors of being trapped for eight days under the wreckage of his collapsed house, in this beautiful but heart-breaking picture-book exploration of the human costs of the recent earthquake in Haiti. Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat - best known for adult works like Breath, Eyes, Memory and Krik? Krak! - chooses not to rub her readers' noses in all the gory details of Junior's ordeal, focusing instead on the games of make-believe that he plays, in order to pass the time, while waiting for rescue.

This understated approach pays tribute to the power of dreams, in helping us - all of us, but especially children - to cope with and survive terrible events, while also making the losses depicted all the more poignant. When, on Day 5, Junior's friend Oscar - trapped with him in the rubble, and joining in all his make-believe games - goes to sleep and doesn't wake up, it is an almost unbearable moment, and the reader joins Junior as he weeps. Danticat's brief afterword, in which she explains some of the motivation behind Eight Days - one of her young daughters kept asking, when the terrible news of the earthquake came, whether her Grandma Issa was trapped under a building - is just as poignant.

The bright acrylic, pastel crayon, and collage artwork of Alix Delinois - who has also worked on Walter Dean Myers' recent picture-book biography of Muhammad Ali - is energetic and cheerful, a pairing I found somewhat jarring at first. But the reliance of the narrative on imaginary play, the theme of using happy dreams to survive terrible tragedy, ended up working very well with the visual landscape created. With a powerful story, and vivid illustrations, Eight Days is one I would recommend to anyone looking for good children's stories about the earthquake in Haiti, or about the power of the imagination in general. ( )

A moving, hopeful survivial story. Stunning, vibrant illustrations. ( )

Edwidge Danticat tells the story of a brave boy who was found alive, under his house eight days after the Haiti earthquake. Each day the boy thought of different things that brought him happiness before the earthquake to keep him alive. Grades 2 - 4. ( )