When Esperanza and her family arrive in the United States from Cuba, they rent a little house, una casita. It may be small, but they soon prove that there’s room enough to share with a whole community.

It was a little house. Una casita . . .
It was small.
It smelled like old wet socks. . .
But even though they were far from home,
The family was together.

As Esperanza and her family settle into their new house, they all do their part to make it a home. When other immigrant families need a place to stay, it seems only natural for the family in la casita to help.

Together they turn the house into a place where other new immigrants can help one another. Esperanza is always the first to welcome them to la casita. It’s a safe place in a new land.

Terry Catasus Jennings first came from Cuba to the U.S. in 1961, when she was twelve years old. With The Little House of Hope, she tells an inspiring, semi-autobiographical story of how immigrants can help each other find their footing in a new country.

A Spanish edition of this beautiful title,  La casita de Esperanza, is also available.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
Named to the Delaware Diamonds Book List

"When Esperanza and her family arrive in the United States from Cuba, they buy a little house, una casita. It may be small, but they soon prove that there's room enough to share with a whole community"--

"Beautifully illustrated using Colón’s trademark scratched-watercolor technique, this book tells the story of many a refugee family and humanizes a group of people often othered. In an age-appropriate way, it touches on the complicated reasons people leave their homes. . . . this inspiring tale offers a lot of hope."—Kirkus Reviews