Where Fireflies Dance

In her first book for children, award-winning author Lucha Corpi remembers her childhood growing up in Jáltipan, Mexico, where the moon hung low and the fireflies flickered in the night air. In vivid and poetic detail, she recalls exploring with her brother the old haunted house of the legendary revolutionary Juan Sebastián, discovering the music that came from the jukebox at the local cantina, and getting caught by their mother for their mischievous adventures. Most of all, she remembers the ballads her father sang and the stories her grandmother told. In her stories, her grandmother passes on an important message about growing up—each person, like the revolutionary Juan Sebastián, has a destiny to follow.

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Lucha Corpi is an award-winning poet and novelist.  Born and raised in Mexico, she has published two highly regarded collections of poetry and a detective series, including Eulogy for a Brown Angel, winner of the Pen Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award.  Lucha lives and teaches in Oakland, California.

Mira Reisberg was born in Australia. A painter, graphic designer, and the illustrator of several books for children, Mira has also taught art to both children and adults. She holds a Master’s in Fine Art and a PhD in Education with an emphasis on Cultural Studies and Art Education. She currently teaches in the Art Education program of Northern Illinois University, outside of Chicago.
 

Themes: Memoirs and Personal Narratives, Community, Family/Intergenerational

Related Books: Baby Rattlesnake, Uncle Nacho’s Hat
 

•    2000—2001 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List

"Lyrically phrased in both Spanish and English, this warm family story opens a window to a rural Mexican upbringing… Reisberg's brilliantly colored, primitive illustrations and arresting borders add immeasurably to the sense of place. This is a sure winner for storytimes as well as a solid addition for schools with Spanish-speaking students." —School Library Journal

"It's a wonderful evocation of the early experiences and family love that give a child both roots and wings… In the intensely tropical-colored paintings, cats are purple, memories are turquoise, and a many-hued bus announces that its destination is ’El Mundo’ (’The World’)." —Kirkus Reviews