School Visit with Donna Barba Higuera

Newbery and Pura Belpré award-winning author, Donna Barba Higuera, will share her newest picture book, The Yellow Handkerchief (El Pañuelo Amarillo), with us.

(this visit is especially great for 2nd – 5th graders)

When a young girl feels ashamed of her family for being “different” and subconsciously blames her abuela, she gradually grows to not only accept but also love the yellow handkerchief that represents a language and culture that once brought embarrassment.

Inspired by Donna’s own personal experiences and expressively illustrated by Cynthia Alonso, The Yellow Handkerchief (El Pañuelo Amarillo) is a lyrical, honest, and intimate intergenerational story about embracing who we are, where we come from, and the people who shape us.

THE SCHOOL VISIT: Donna will read aloud The Yellow Handkerchief and then share photos, stories and writing prompts that led to her developing the ideas for this book.

Following the presentation, Donna will engage the students in their own writing/drawing activity (have paper and pencils/pens on hand!) that explores themes found in the book. At the end, we’ll have time to take any questions.

Donna Barba Higuera grew up in Central California surrounded by agricultural and oil fields. As a child, rather than dealing with the regular dust devils, she preferred spending recess squirreled away in the janitor’s closet with a good book. Her favorite hobbies were calling dial-a-story over and over again, and sneaking into a restricted cemetery to weave her own spooky tales using the crumbling headstones as inspiration. ​Donna’s Middle Grade and Picture Books are about kids who find themselves in odd or scary situations.​ From language to cultural differences in being biracial life can become…complicated. So like Donna, characters tackle more than just the bizarre things that happen to them in their lives. Donna likes to write about all things funny, but also sad, and creepy, and magical. If you like those things, she hopes you will read her books! Donna lives in Washington State with her family, three dogs and two frogs.