Events for Youth & Families: Edwidge Danticat Discusses "Watch Out for Falling Iguanas" with Rasha Hamid
Best-selling Haitian author Edwidge Danticat reads from and discusses her new children's picture book, Watch Out for Falling Iguanas, with Rasha Hamid.
ON A RARE CHILLY DAY IN MIAMI, Florida, young Leila sets off for school bundled up in her bright red jacket. But this isn’t just any cold day―her grandmother, Grandma Issa, gives her an unusual warning: “Watch out for falling iguanas.”
As Leila navigates her morning, she can’t stop thinking about Grandma’s strange words. From remembering dodging coconuts and seeing her parents’ car being held up by chickens crossing the road to admiring roaming peacocks, Leila’s day is full of curious encounters. But nothing prepares her for the moment she sees an iguana drop from a tree.
Join Leila, her close friends, and her teacher Ms. Benoit on an unexpected adventure as they discover why these tropical creatures fall from trees during cold snaps. With charming illustrations by acclaimed Jamaican artist Rachel Moss and a truly heartwarming story, Watch Out for Falling Iguanas is a delightful tale about family, friendship, and the surprises nature can bring.
Watch Out for Falling Iguanas and others will be available for purchase courtesy of Greenlight Bookstore.
PARTICIPANTS
Edwidge Danticat was born in Haiti and moved to the United States when she was twelve. She is the editor of Haiti Noir and Haiti Noir 2: The Classics, and author of Breath, Eyes, Memory (an Oprah’s Book Club selection), Krik? Krak!, and The Dew Breaker, among other books for adults. Her books for children include Eight Days: A Story of Haiti, Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation, The Last Mapou, and My Mommy Medicine. Her young adult novels Untwine, Anacaona: Golden Flower, and Behind the Mountains offer profound insights into the immigrant experience and the beauty and complexity of Haitian culture. Her brand-new children’s picture book is Watch Out for Falling Iguanas (Akashic Books). A MacArthur Fellow, Danticat currently teaches at Columbia University.
Rasha Hamid is a lifelong New Yorker, educator, and children’s book author with over 25 years of teaching experience in East Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Khartoum, and Brooklyn. She’s an educator-activist committed to creating joyful, equitable, and sustainable learning spaces for children and adults alike.
Rasha began making picture books with her students to reflect their lives and passions. Her titles include Kadisa كديسة, How to Bird (Free Spirit Press, 2023), and Hello, Beech Tree! (2024). Rasha’s next book, Uncommonly Curious, Eternally Autistic is planned for release at the end of March.
Events for Youth & Families programs are made possible through generous support from the Estate of Pearl S. Reuillard in memory of her parents Yetta and Louis Schwartz.
