Brainstorm 174: International Reads Pt. 4: Central American & the Caribbean

After a week off, we're continuing our look at books set in countries and cultures around the world. This week the focus is Central American and the Caribbean. To see the full parameters I've set for the selection of books in this International Reads series, please visit International Reads Pt 1: Africa. And of course, that’s the place to visit for some books set in African countries too. If you’re looking for some books set in Asian countries, check out International Reads Pt 2: Asia. And if you're looking for books set in the lands "down under" or the islands of the Pacific check out International Reads Pt 3: Australia, New Zealand, & Oceania. I'm not including summaries or reviews today in the interest of space. Clicking on the title of the books will take you to either my review of the book or a general summary and other reviews.

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA

Psalm 23 ill. by Barry Moser
Genre: Religious, Juvenile Nonfiction, Picture Book

BAHAMAS

SilverFin (Young Bond, #1) by Charlie Higson
Genre: Thriller, Spy Stories, Young Adult Fiction

Thea Stilton and the Tropical Treasure (Thea Stilton, #22) by Thea Stilton
Genre: Adventure Stories, Mystery, Animal Stories, Lower Grade/Middle Grade Fiction

Specific Culture: Arawak

Morning Girl by Michael Dorris
Genre: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction

BARBADOS

Treasures of the Caribbean series by Jim & Terri Kraus
Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction, Adventure Stories, Religious Fiction, Adult Fiction

COSTA RICA

Hide and Seek (Silver Jaguar Society Mysteries, #2) by Kate Messner
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Adventure Stories, Middle Grade Fiction

CUBA

All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle, ill. by Mike Curato
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Picture Book

The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionist by Margarita Engle
Genre: Biographical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Novels in Verse, Young Adult Fiction

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
Genre: Biographical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Novels in Verse, Bilingual Books, Middle Grade/Young Adult Fiction

Who Was Fidel Castro? (Who Was/Is…?) by Sarah Fabiny, ill. by Ted Hammond
Genre: Biography, Middle Grade Nonfiction

*Note: Margarita Engle has several other books set in Cuba. I couldn't include them all here.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Islandborn by Junot Díaz, ill. by Leo Espinosa
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Picture Book

HAITI

The Banza: a Haitian Story by Diane Wolkstein, ill. by Marc Brown
Genre: Folklore, Animal Stories, Picture Books

Circles of Hope by Karen Lynn Williams, ill. by Linda Saport
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Picture Book

Eight Days: a Story of Haiti by Edwidge Danticat, ill. by Alix Delinois
Genre: Disaster Stories, Survival Stories, Contemporary Fiction, Picture Books

HONDURAS

Hurricane: a novel by Terry Trueman
Genre: Disaster Stories, Survival Stories, Middle Grade Fiction

*See Mosquita for another book set partly in Honduras.

JAMAICA

Faster Than Lightning: My Biography by Usain Bolt
Genre: Autobiography, Sports, Adult Nonfiction

Run with Me: the Story of a U.S. Olympic Champion by Sanya Richards-Ross
Genre: Autobiography, Sports, Religious, Young Adult Nonfiction

Who Was Bob Marley? (Who Was/Is…?) by Katie Ellison, ill. by Gregory Copeland
Genre: Biography, Music, Middle Grade Nonfiction

MOSQUITA (Parts of Nicaragua & Honduras)

Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston
Genre: Travel Stories, Adventure, Thriller, Survival, Mystery, Science, History, Adult Nonfiction

PANAMA

The Little Painter of Sabana Grande by Patricia Maloney Markun, ill. by Robert Casilla
Genre: Historical Fiction, Art Stories, Picture Book

What Is the Panama Canal? (What Is/Was…?) by Janet B. Pascal, ill. by Tim Foley
Genre: History, Engineering, Middle Grade Nonfiction

PUERTO RICO

Parrots over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, ill. by Susan L. Roth
Genre: Animal Stories, Science, History, Lower Grade/Middle Grade Nonfiction, Picture Book

Who Was Roberto Clemente? (Who Was/Is…?) by James Buckley, Jr., ill. by Ted Hammond
Genre: Biography, Sports, Middle Grade Nonfiction

ST. KITTS & NEVIS

Sea Turtle Scientist (Scientists in the Field) by Stephen R. Swinburne
Genre: Animal Stories, Science, Middle Grade/Young Adult Nonfiction

ST. LUCIA

The Field by Baptiste Paul, ill. by Jacqueline Alcántara
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Sports, Picture Book

VIRGIN ISLANDS

Specific Island: St. Croix

Alexander Hamilton: Little Lion (Treasure Chest, #2) by Ann Hood
Genre: Time Travel, Historical Fiction, Biographical Fiction, Lower Grade/Middle Grade Fiction

Specific Island: St. John

My Name Is Not Angelica by Scott O’Dell
Genre: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction

Various Caribbean Islands (unnamed or imaginary) or Stories on the Caribbean Sea

The Buccaneers (High Seas Adventures, #3) by Iain Lawrence
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adventure, Sea Stories, Young Adult Fiction

A Caribbean Mystery (Miss Marple, #10) by Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Travel Stories, Adult Fiction

The Cay (The Cay, #1) by Theodore Taylor
Genre: Survival Stories, Adventure, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction

The Expeditioners and the Secrets of King Triton’s Lair (The Expeditioners, #2) by S.S. Taylor, ill. by Katherine Roy
Genre: Adventure Stories, Mystery, Steampunk, Middle Grade Fiction

How Many Days to America?: a Thanksgiving Story by Eve Bunting, ill. by Beth Peck
Genre: Survival Stories, Historical Fiction, Holiday Stories, Refugee Stories, Picture Books

Hurricane Dancers: the First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck by Margarita Engle
Genre: Adventure Stories, Legends, Historical Fiction, Novels in Verse, Young Adult Fiction

Island People: the Caribbean and the World by Joshua Jelly-Shapiro
Genre: Travel Stories, Cultural Studies, History, Social Sciences, Adult Nonfiction