Celebrate Children's Book Launch of Auntie Luce by Haitian Author Francie Latour

Come celebrate the launch of children's book Auntie Luce's Talking Paintings by author Francie Laour with a reading, book signing, + activity celebrating Haiti's heroes, colors, and culture!

What the book is about:

Every winter, a young girl flies to Haiti to visit her Auntie Luce, a painter.

The moment she steps off the plane, she feels a wall of heat, and familiar sights soon follow — the boys selling water ice by the pink cathedral, the tap tap buses in the busy streets, the fog and steep winding road to her aunt’s home in the mountains.

The girl has always loved Auntie Luce’s paintings — the houses tucked into the hillside, colorful fishing boats by the water, heroes who fought for and won the country’s independence. Through Haiti’s colors, the girl comes to understand this place her family calls home. And when the moment finally comes to have her own portrait painted for the first time, she begins to see herself in a new way, tracing her own history and identity through her aunt’s brush.

A story of heart, home and identity, connecting a Haitian American girl to generations of family love and lore.

A little about Francie Latour:

Francie Latour is a writer and editor whose work explores issues of race, culture and identity. She was a staff reporter for The Boston Globe for 10 years, and her essays have been featured on National Public Radio, the Today show, The Root and Essence. She is also co-founder and co-director of Wee The People, a social justice project for kids based in Boston. Her writing has also been anthologized, including in The Butterfly’s Way, edited by Edwidge Danticat.

Francie, a mother of three, was born in the US to Haitian parents. She was inspired to write Auntie Luce by a chance encounter with the late Luce Turnier – one of Haiti’s most celebrated artists – who painted Francie’s portrait in 1992, two years before the artist's death. This is Francie’s first picture book.