The day Donna Barba Higuera won the John Newbery Medal for most distinguished American children's book, she had no idea that the award was coming.
"The moment they said it, I was speechless and so emotional. I had to calm down after the call. It was one of those experiences where you know from then on, your life will never be the same."
There are rare moments in one's life where the trajectory changes so significantly that the world never feels the same again, and that's what Higuera has written about in her award-winning book, "The Last Cuentista."
Published in 2021 by Levine Querido, it's the story of Petra Peña, a brave young protagonist who must face the end of the world and do the unimaginable — travel to a new planet that will carry on the human race. Hundreds of years into her journey, Petra wakes to discover a sinister "Collective" has taken over the ship, and Petra is the lone survivor with her memories of home still intact. She becomes the last cuentista, or storyteller.
Higuera's book has complex and challenging themes — themes that may elicit complicated reactions in even adult readers. One such theme explores the relationship between collective and individual good. When I asked her about her approach to children's writing, she said:
"I bring up the topics because I was a kid who was thinking about these things. I don't answer the question, but I think it's important for kids to wonder and not know the final answer. We have to give young readers credit and the opportunity to think and ponder complicated issues."
At its foundation, "The Last Cuentista" is a story of immigration, and Higuera describes with great empathy the fear and trepidation of moving your life and family to an unknown place. There is no guarantee that life be better, but there is hope, and hope is powerful.
"What if the Collective tried to remove my family? What if they tried to separate me from my memories? I thought a lot about chosen families in this book, and about what connects us as humans. Separating people from one another is cruel. We have to have relationships with other humans to be happy, to thrive, to survive. It's a necessity."
"The Last Cuentista" is rich with storytelling, folk tales and author references. I talked to Higuera about her experience as a reader growing up, about the stories that matter to her and how they shaped this novel.
"When I'm writing, I choose something really personal to me, so that the reader can feel what I'm feeling. If I'm laughing, they'll laugh. If I'm crying, they'll cry. And I asked myself throughout the writing of this book, what scares me the most? And it's the erasure of stories. What if someone tried to erase those? What if they took them away?"
The impact of that thought permeates "The Last Cuentista" and is a central question of Petra's story. The significant importance of stories, of history, of shared experiences between humans, is understood when you follow Petra's journey of losing them forever.
"Traveling around after the Newbery Award has really emphasized to me how much we have in common. All over the world, we want the same things. Everyone has stories. My stories are mine, but once I give them to you, they're yours, too, and they become a part of your story as well."
We here at Roundabout Books couldn't agree more, and remain so inspired by the breadth and depth of children's literature being published today. "The Last Cuentista" is a new favorite, and I encourage everyone, young and old, to read it.
Our Oregon community is fortunate to have this book chosen as part of the 2024-2025 Oregon Battle of the Books 6th-8th Grade Division List, as it brings awareness of this, and all the books on the list, to libraries and schools across the state. OBOB is an annual statewide voluntary reading motivation and comprehension program, during which students read 16 titles at their grade level and then compete on comprehension in a championship bracket.
Each year Roundabout Books organizes multiple free Zoom events with select OBOB authors that anyone can attend to learn more about the book, the author and the writing process. You can view this year's lineup and register for the free events here, and watch my full interview with Donna Barba Higuera on the Roundabout Books YouTube.
You can also visit Higuera's website for education and discussion guides for each of her books. "The Last Cuentista" is not the first of Higuera's novels to win an award! "Lupe Wong Won't Dance" won the Sid Fleischmann Award in 2020, an award given to authors whose work exemplifies excellence in writing humor.
