A love letter to Haiti, written up as the report of a girl finding out about her ancestral home with a trip to her grandfather, but for all the earnestness and pride it has it's still a clunky read. My copy (despite being two years old and digital) still had really bad typos and layout issues, too often the art doesn't show what the script is glorying in, and the whole thing seems to be set in a ridiculous day trip, taking in all the islands, regions, mountains – and eateries – the place has to offer. The characters certainly had fun, and I don't doubt the truth of the descriptions and facts here, but this isn't enjoyable, and even the attempts to force the non-fiction narrative into rhyme don't help much at all, either. All told, a disappointment.

Okay but a bit short on some significant detail🤔

The story of a family vacation trip was fine; I just did not think it provided enough information to transform it from a typical family vacation tale focusing on eating and leisure activities to one that would definitely capture a child's interest in a faraway place. Haiti has such a unique story that sets it apart from its Caribbean neighbors.

A few cases in point: the storybook's cover illustration highlights La Citadelle, an iconic hilltop fortress in northern Haiti, but the book never mentions the Haitian king (yes, king!) who had it built or why. The illustrations show characters on horses around the fortress but the text doesn't explain the steep terrain and remoteness of the fortress are why they are on horseback. The story mentions the southern town of Jacmel's beautiful historic center but provides no pictures.

Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Review shared on 6/28/25 on Goodreads and Bookbub.

A very fun and informative book about Haiti. Great for a young kid who wants to learn more about the world. The little scavanger hunt in the book was also fun for my little nephew. The story and facts are super fun, but the structure needs a bit of editing (mainly the font and color to print imagery).

I adored this book. I think it is a lovely book for children to read with great messages. The illustrations were amazing and I thought the illustrations were beautiful and very colourful. I think children would adore this book and learn something from it.

I like the idea of "Reina Learns About Haiti." Reina’s visit to her family in Haiti introduces readers to the country's rich culture, history, language, and geography. There are a few formatting mistakes that could be improved.

Grandpere takes Reina and the family on a wonderful tour of Haiti to see all the sights and sample so many different foods. Done in a simple rhyme pattern, it is fun to read and enjoy! There is even a map.
The illustrations by K.K.P. Dananjali are simple, imaginative, brightly colorful, and FUN.
Well suited for reading alone or WITH someone of any age, including ESL, and great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school, waiting room, or your local public library!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital Galley on NetGalley PDF from BooksGoSocial | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles via NetGalley.
#ReinaLearnsAboutHaiti by #SheilaDuperrier and #KKPDananjaliIllustrator @booksgosocialgroup @ibpalovesindies #series #Haiti #languages #mountains #family #mangoes #TortugaIsland #LaCitadelle #waterfall #museum #market #localfoods #grandpere #touristing

When looking for children’s books I always prefer to go for educational ones and this was full of fun facts and which was great as an adult to learn about! I did think at times I could not tell who the target age for this book was for as the text varied between kiddish and more mature and at times can be hard to follow. Some issues with the presentation of the text but otherwise a good educational children’s book.

Wonderful story telling about Reina and her family’s culture. Love how informative the book was about Haiti and i actually learned some new facts i don’t think i would’ve find anywhere else. The illustrations are a little off but still beautiful and captures the island

I really love the idea of this book, but I did feel that some things made it a little harder to follow. I felt that for a children's book it may be difficult to understand the symbols, different pronunciations, and excerpts. A key was not easily found for these things and I felt like the pages seemed a little cluttered and dense making this all more difficult to take in. As a concept I love the book. I think it's great to show children that they can explore and learn about countries, cultures, and languages without physically leaving wherever they are from. We can learn and grow from anywhere because of books and stories and I think this book exemplifies this!

A lovely book detailing Haitian culture. A beautiful story to teach children about other cultures and landscapes than their own.

This little picture book follows a young girl named Reina on vacation to visit her grandfather. He takes her on a grand tour of Haiti and its islands, sharing aspects of Haitian culture, history, and fun facts galore. The book was thorough and informative, giving a great highlight of each place Reina visited.

There were some formatting issues and grammatical mistakes along the way. At times, the white text became completely unreadable on the background. I also felt that for a young audience, the lack of emotional narrative from Reina might lose their attention quickly. As an adult though, I enjoyed learning about Haiti in these little snippets.