The Red Umbrella

I simply cannot stress how much I enjoyed this book. I opened it and within four and a half hours, it was over and I was continuing the story in my mind. Perhaps it is my own bias towards things that talk about the Cuban culture (and perhaps that bias comes from the restriction of travel!), but what a colorful story to read. I think the best part of this book is the fact that it is historical fiction—and it included newspaper article titles for each chapter. This effect almost granted it more legitimacy than the story itself would have earned. Was that just my own perception? Did anyone else feel that way? I’m imagining a unit on Cuba where this book supplements the research. How awesome would it be to read newspaper articles from the days the novel mentions to have a more complete picture of the time? Perhaps even have the students create their own character for the time and see what sort of adventure or difficulties he or she encounters. Does anyone else have any way to incorporate this novel into an English class?