Reading Lists
If you enjoyed Mountains Beyond Mountains, and would like to learn more about Haiti, we suggest -
| BOOKS FOR CHILDREN | BOOKS FOR ADULTS | ||
| Fiction | Non-Fiction | Fiction | Non-Fiction |
The banza: a Haitian story by Diane Wolkstein
A small goat finds that the banjo given to her by a tiger protects her from harm.
Behind the mountains by Edwidge Danticat
Elections are being held in Haiti. As bombs explode in Port-au-Prince, Celiane Esprance and her mother are nearly killed, and are resolved to join Celiane's father in New York. When the family moves, Celiane narrates the difficulties they have adjusting.
Bouki dances the Kokioko: a comical tale from Haiti by Diane Wolkstein
In this breezy trickster tale the king offers 5000 gourdes to anyone who can do the Kokioko, a dance he has secretly invented so he can be entertained while everyone auditions in vain.
Fresh girl by Jaira Placide
Born in New York to immigrant parents, Mardi returned to Haiti at the age of four to live with her grandmother. Eight years later, her uncle’s political activities bring violence to the family and forces them to flee.
The magic orange tree, and other Haitian folktales by Diane Wolkstein
From orange trees growing at the command of a child to talking fish, these stories present us with a world of wonder, delight and mystery.
Painted dreams by Karen Lynn Williams
Using whatever she can find -- a scrap of wastepaper, a bit of charcoal -- Ti Marie makes beautiful art. Mama says there is no money for paint or canvas but Ti Marie finds a surprising way to make her dreams come true.
Running the road to ABC by Denize Lauture
Every morning the children wake before dawn, eager to get to school on time. This story captures the simple joys of starting one's day.
Tap-tap by Karen Lynn Williams
Sasifi earns a treat for herself and her mother--a ride in the tap-tap, a truck that picks up passengers and lets them off when they bang on the side.
The Haitian trilogy by Derek Walcott
Three early theater experiments by Nobel prize-winning poet and playwright Walcott center around historical characters: Christoff, Dessaline, and Toussaint L'Ouverture.
Why owl comes out at night: a story from Haiti by Janet Palazzo-Craig
Owl thinks he is too ugly and enlists the help of Rooster to court the girl of his dreams.
BOOKS FOR CHILDREN - Non-fiction
Haiti by Roseline Ng Cheong-Lum
Learn about the people, their recent political turmoil, and the various ethnic and language influences, as well as the role of voodoo.
Haiti in pictures by Lerner Publications Company. Geography Dept.
Introduces the land, history, government, people, and economy of Haiti.
Haiti by Kate A. Conley
Includes an overview of the country's history, geography, culture, economy, and government.
Haiti by Martin Hintz
Hintz explains the complex political past and present of Haiti, details the reasons for its deep poverty, and chronicles its lush natural beauty.
Haitian family by Keith Elliot Greenberg
Shares the difficult and often dangerous life of the members of a refugee family in their native country and describes their subsequent journey to the U.S.
All souls' rising by Madison Smartt Bell
Follows the lives of a handful of characters from radically different social strata during the period of Haiti's struggle for independence.
Breath, eyes, memory by Edwidge Danticat
Set in Haiti's villages and in New York's Haitian community, this is the story of Sophie Caco, who was conceived in an act of violence, abandoned by her mother and then summoned to America.
The comedians by Graham Greene
Set in a Haiti ruled by Papa Doc and the Tontons Macoute, his sinister secret police, this novel presages the chaos in Haiti. Classic Graham Greene.
The dew breaker by Edwidge Danticat
Haitian-born Danticat's third novel focuses on the lives affected by a "dew breaker," or torturer of Haitian dissidents under Duvalier's regime.
The farming of bones by Edwidge Danticat
1937: On the Dominican side of the Haiti border, Amabelle, a maid to the young wife of an army colonel falls in love with sugarcane cutter Sebastien.
In the palm of darkness: a novel by Mayra Montero
American herpetologist and his Haitian guide comb the volatile and bloody mountainsides of Haiti in search of a single specimen of the nearly extinct gre-nouille du sang (blood frog).
Lydia Bailey by Kenneth Lewis Roberts
Adventure, romance and detective story with action ranging from New England in the early 1800's, to Haiti during Toussaint L'Ouverture's rebellion, to the Barbary Coast.
Master of the Crossroads by Madison Smartt Bell
Set against the 1793 slave revolt of Haiti's Saint Dominigue is this portrait of the remarkable Toussaint
Louverture.
Samedi's knapsack by Gaylord Dold
In Haiti in search of a man accused of absconding with money and paintings, a private detective tangles with the Ton Ton Macoutes.
The stone that the builder refused by Madison Smartt Bell
The finale in the Toussaint Louverture trilogy spans the last two years of Toussaint's life, his triumphant struggle and the compromises made for a free Haiti.
BOOKS FOR ADULTS - Non-Fiction
After the dance: a walk through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti by Edwidge Danticat
Danticat returns to her homeland to celebrate her first Carnival, taking readers on a journey beyond the hedonistic surface and into the heart of the celebration.
AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the geography of blame by Paul Farmer
Physician and anthropologist Farmer studied the impact of AIDS on the people of Haiti, and his portrayal for his doctoral dissertation, of a small rural village--its clinic, religious life, folk healers, and voodoo beliefs--brings Haitian culture powerfully to life.
Lost white tribes: the end of privilege and the last colonials in Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Brazil, Haiti, Namibia, and Guadeloupe by Riccardo Orizio
Following the trail of the last colonials, Orizio lifts the veil on a hidden world, bringing readers on a journey to the lost corners of the post-colonial world to meet the people voyaging Europeans left behind.
The immaculate invasion by Bob Shacochis
From the Pentagon's war room to the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince, Shacochis chronicles what the military calls OTW (other than war) Operations.
The uses of Haiti by Paul Farmer
Harvard-based Farmer offers an indictment of American policy in Haiti.
The Haitian revolution, 1789-1804 by Thomas O. Ott
A thorough analysis of the revolution from start to finish.
Dominican Republic and Haiti: country studies by Helen Chapin Metz
In-depth study of the region compiled by the Library of Congress, Federal Research Division in 2001.
Song of Haiti: the lives of Dr. Larimer and Gwen Mellon at Albert Schweitzer Hospital of Deschapelles by Barry Paris
The story of the Mellons and the passion that inspired them to leave luxury behind to devote their lives to the practice of medicine amongst the poorest of the poor.
Why the cocks fight: Dominicans, Haitians, and the struggle for Hispaniola by Michele Wucker
Explores the reasons for the conflict between two nations--one black and French-speaking, the other mulatto and Spanish-speaking--that share the Caribbean island.
Haiti by Bruce Gilden
Shocking black-and-white pictures reveal a Haiti that has declined into a police state where brutal poverty is the order of the day
Best nightmare on earth: a life in Haiti by Herbert Gold
Since Gold”s first visit to Haiti in 1953 it has been his “favorite place in the whole wide world.” The nightmare in the title includes the burning of a suspected werewolf and Gold's frightening confrontation with the tonton macoutes.
The rainy season: Haiti since Duvalier by Amy Wilentz
Wilentz provides historical background when necessary, and tells the stories of Haitians from all walks of life, from the infamous Tontons Macoute to voodoo priests, and including government officials, missionaries, intellectuals, workers and the unemployed.
Island possessed by Katherine Dunham
Captures Dunham's experiences of the island's intricate voodoo religious dances and customs; the friction between the black peasants and the mulatto elites; and the brutal dictatorships that have plagued the nation.
Christophe, King of Haiti by Hubert Cole
Cole relates the story of the slave revolt leading up to the Christophe era, including relations with Napoleon, Britain and with the young United Stat es .
The serpent and the rainbow by Wade Davis
An arresting account of Davis’ search for poisons and antidotes presumably used to create zombis, the victims usually selected by a secret society tribunal.
Vodou shaman: the Haitian way of healing and power by Ross Heaven
Restores Vodou as a powerful tradition with exercises and techniques that can be used as a means of spiritual healing and personal transformation.
The Haitian trilogy by Derek Walcott
Three early theater experiments by Nobel prize-winning poet and playwright Walcott center around historical characters: Christoff, Dessaline, and Toussaint L'Ouverture.
Compiled by the Groton Public Library 2005