An engaging volume brings together two of Alma Flor Ada’s previously published memoirs, Where the Flame Trees Bloom and Under the Royal Palms, with a third collection of essays, Days at La Quinta Simoni. All are about her childhood in Cuba in a large and loving extended family prior to the rise of communism. Ada’s wonderful storytelling voice is warm and friendly, inviting readers right into her childhood. The slight repetition among the three volumes, in which a similar incident may be recounted in two or more ways, further gives one a sense of being part of Ada’s family: In any family there are always stories that get told over and over in slightly different ways. Across the stories, not only do vivid scenes of Ada’s childhood emerge, but so, too, does the strong sense of compassion she was taught to have for those around her. (Age 10 and older)