Sonia Manzano and Edwidge Danticat: A Conversation

Edwidge Danticat was born in Haiti and came to the United States when she was twelve years old. Her books include Breath, Eyes, Memory; the short-story collection Krik? Krak!; and The Farming of Bones. Named one of the 20 Best of American Novelists by Granta, Danticat’s awards include a Pushcart Prize for short fiction an American Book Award. Her books have been selected for Oprah’s Book Club and have been twice nominated for the National Book Award. In 2009 Danticat received a MacArthur Genius Grant. Edwidge Danticat’s illustrated children’s book, Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation (Dial Books), shows how every child has the power to make a difference. Edwidge Danticat fèt an Ayiti, men li imigre Ozetazini depi a laj douzan. Edwidge te resevwa yon diplòm an literati fransèz nan Barnard College, e apre sa li te fè yon metriz nan Brown University. Li se otè plizyè liv, tankou paregzanp Souf, Je, Memwa ; Krik? Krak! (ki te pami finalis « National Book Award » -- ki fè Edwidge se pi jèn moun yo janm nonmen pou pri sa a); La récolte douce des larmes; avèk Le briseur de rosée, ki te resevwa yon « American Book Award ». Edwidge ekri plizyè liv pou timoun ak jèn moun, tankou paregzanp Pour l ‘amour de Claire, avèk Anakawona, Flè Annò. Se li ki edite Haïti Noir; The Butterfly's Way: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States avèk The Beacon Best of 2000: Great Writing by Men and Women of All Colors and Cultures. Lòt onè Danticat resevwa gen ladan « National Book Critics Circle Award » pou yon resi ki rele Adieu, mon frère. Li resevwa yon « MacArthur Fellowship », e li te anseye ekriti nan University of Miami ak New York University.

Sonia Manzano is best known as “Maria,” one of the first Hispanic characters on Sesame Street, a role she delighted in for more than twenty years. She has earned fifteen Emmy Awards as a member of the Sesame Street writing staff, and is the author of the picture books No Dogs Allowed!, A Box Full of Kittens, and The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano. Manzano is author of Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx (Scholastic). When readers meet young Sonia, she is a child living amidst the squalor of a boisterous home, filled with noisy relatives and nosy neighbors. Each day she is glued to the TV screen that blots out the painful realities of her existence and illuminates the possibilities that lie ahead. But when the TV goes off, Sonia is taken back to real-life—the cramped, colorful world of her neighborhood and an alcoholic father. It is Sonia's dream of becoming an actress that keeps her afloat among the turbulence of her life and times. Spiced with culture, heartache, and humor, this memoir paints a lasting portrait of a girl's resilience as she grows up to become an inspiration to millions. In Miracle on 133rd Street (Atheneum Books for Young Readers), an urban family’s dilemma becomes a community celebration. It’s Christmas Eve and Mami has bought a delicious roast for a Christmas feast. But, oh no! It’s too big to fit in the oven. Jose and Papa need to find an oven big enough to cook Mami’s roast. As they walk from door to door through their apartment building, no one seems to be in the Christmas spirit. So they head down the street to find someone willing to help, and only when they do, lo and behold, the scent—the itself magical smell—of dinner begins to spread, and holiday cheer manifests in ways most unexpected.