Now a 2024 Musa Mentor
TERRY CATASUS JENNINGS
Learn more about your mentor:
Preferred Age Category: Picture books, Chapter Books, and Middle Grade. Preferred Genre or Sub-Genres: I love chapter books, I have written a lot of non-fiction. As a mentor I love working on: I love working on revision, making the manuscript age appropriate, digging deeper into the character's motivation. Areas of expertise/strengths as a mentor: I love developing a story's plot and all the logistics of the plot. Areas of weakness as a mentor: Not good at all on queries. |
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THE LITTLE HOUSE OF HOPE...
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, La Casita de Esperanza, will be released simultaneously.
ADD TO GOODREADS
ORDER: ENGLISH | SPANISH
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, La Casita de Esperanza, will be released simultaneously.
ADD TO GOODREADS
ORDER: ENGLISH | SPANISH
ABOUT TERRY...
On September 11, 1961, Terry Catasús Jennings landed in the United States with her family after a short flight from Cuba. Their only possessions were $50 and one suitcase each. Her family, including her father, who had been jailed during the Bay of Pigs invasion, was now in a free country. On September 12, Terry found herself enrolled in seventh grade, drowning in a sea of English she didn’t understand. With time and help, the family thrived. Terry was a late bloomer in her writing career.
The Definitely Dominguita series was named SLJ, Kirkus, and Parents Latina Best Books of 2021. Her biography in verse, Pauli Murray, The Life of a Pioneering Feminist and Civil Rights Activist released in February. In The Little House of Hope, a Junior Library Guild Selection illustrated by Pura Belpré medalist Raúl Colón, Jennings portrays her immigrant experience, showing how a helping hand in a new land can make a life-saving difference for a family. She encourages us all to embrace our common humanity. She lives in Reston, Virginia with her husband, and enjoys visiting with her five grandchildren, often encouraging them to bring their parents along.
She is a member of SCBWI, Las Musas Latinx Collaborative and the Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC. Terry is represented by Natalie Lakosil of Irene Goodman Literary Agency
www.terrycjennings.com/
On September 11, 1961, Terry Catasús Jennings landed in the United States with her family after a short flight from Cuba. Their only possessions were $50 and one suitcase each. Her family, including her father, who had been jailed during the Bay of Pigs invasion, was now in a free country. On September 12, Terry found herself enrolled in seventh grade, drowning in a sea of English she didn’t understand. With time and help, the family thrived. Terry was a late bloomer in her writing career.
The Definitely Dominguita series was named SLJ, Kirkus, and Parents Latina Best Books of 2021. Her biography in verse, Pauli Murray, The Life of a Pioneering Feminist and Civil Rights Activist released in February. In The Little House of Hope, a Junior Library Guild Selection illustrated by Pura Belpré medalist Raúl Colón, Jennings portrays her immigrant experience, showing how a helping hand in a new land can make a life-saving difference for a family. She encourages us all to embrace our common humanity. She lives in Reston, Virginia with her husband, and enjoys visiting with her five grandchildren, often encouraging them to bring their parents along.
She is a member of SCBWI, Las Musas Latinx Collaborative and the Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC. Terry is represented by Natalie Lakosil of Irene Goodman Literary Agency
www.terrycjennings.com/