The+Red+Umbrella

Lucia lives in Cuba with her parents and little brother Frankie. There's a revolution happening, and her parents don't want her going outside much. Lucia is mad because she just wants to hang out with her friends. One day, while she is running errands, she sees a neighborhood man hanged from a tree. She is terrified, but her parents want her to act normal. She goes to a dance, where her first crush is a huge jerk. She goes home and finds her house being searched by soldiers. Her parents decide to send her and Frankie to the U.S. She doesn't want to go because she is scared and doesn't want to leave her parents. They first live at a camp where they have to live in separate buildings, and Frankie hates it. One night Frankie sneaks into the girls dormitory and meets Lucia in her bed. Lucia is shocked and the directors of the camps find out and they get in trouble. But, Frankie's director doesn't want them to get in trouble and he realized that there is a family that can take them so they are sent to a foster home in Nebraska. It's strange at first, and they want to go home. Every few weeks they call their parents. Lucia occasionally gets letters from her friend, Ivette. They make friends, and realize they have come to love the Baxters. One day, Lucia finds out her father has been hurt. She realizes the Cuba she knew and loved is no longer there. Her parents want to come, but the soldiers don't want her father to leave. She goes to the airport to pick up her mother, and she sees her father hobbling along with the old red umbrella. They are all united and Lucia is really excited to have her whole family together again.

I learned how they like to eat black beans, yuca, and rice. Flan is an especially good Cuban desert. I learned how Christmas eve is celebrated more than Christmas. And they usually get presents on epiphany. I also learned about the communist Revolution. I learned about how the kids participated in clubs and stuff that taught them how communism is the best, and the U.S. is evil. They were brainwashed really. Things are a lot more traditional in Cuba. By: //Susannah//

I learned quite a bit about Cuban culture. I learned that family is very important to them and that they are very close. Also the food is very different. They eat flan, black beans and rice. They also have big parties or celebrations for birthdays, and when a girls turns 15 they are welcomed into Cuban society. The government was very powerful and made people believe what they said. Many teenagers went on brigades. Overall Cuba seemed like a very family oriented country. -Anna

I learned a lot about the culture in Cuba. The food that they eat is very different than the food they eat here. They have a huge celebration for girls who are turning 15, and the girl is officially welcomed into society. It surprised me that the government encouraged teenagers to be a part of the Revolution. They kind of brainwashed the people to believe that America was evil. The people in Cuba always had to be careful about what they said about the government, because they could be punished if they said anything bad about it. In America we have the freedom to think and say what we want. ~Erin

I thought this is a really good multi-cultural book. It doesn't have a lot of action, but I learned a lot. I've never really learned much about communism in Cuba. I didn't know how much they suffered. And I like the viewpoint of a young boy and girl's experience, just because their family stood up for what they believed. //By: Susannah//

I enjoyed this book very much. It wasn't action packed, but it was still very interesting and fast. It was cool to read about all the different things that they did in their culture. It was also cool to relate to Nebraska and see how hard it would be to be placed in the middle of a corn field//.-Anna//

I liked this book a lot. It taught me a lot about Cuba's culture, but it wasn't boring at all. It had a lot of excitement in it, and it was very interesting. I would recommend this book to a lot of people. It made me think about what it would be like if I was separated from my parents and sent to China or something. ~Erin