Popo and Fifina (The Iona and Peter Opie Library)

This collaboration between Harlem Renaissance writers Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes is an early African-Aamerican classic and a milestone in the history of literature for children. In this novel for young people, Popo and Fifina leave their home in the hills of Haiti to move with their parents to a town by the sea. The next few months are full of adventures--adjusting to a new home, a trip back to the hills for a visit, Popo's work as a carpenter's apprentice, the children's fun with a wondrous kits made by their father, and even a trip to the lighthouse at the end of the island and an amazing tropical storm. When Popo and Fifina was first published in 1932, it was greeted with universal approval. The New York Times praised its "simple home-like atmosphere" and suggested that all children's books "should be written by poets." It has been a favorite among children, parents, and teachers for more than two decades, and now this new edition introduces its magic to a new generation.