90 Miles to Havana

By: Enrique Flores-Galbis
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Copyright: 2010

A revolution has just started in Havana, Cuba, and Julian's parents must make the heartbreaking decision to send him and his two older brothers away to Miami via the Pedro Pan operation. But when the boys get to Miami, they are thrust into a world where bullies seem to run rampant and it's not always clear how best to protect themselves. The refugee camp where they are sent is not what they expected, it is an overcrowded facility ruled by a nasty bully, Caballo. The boys end up sleeping on the ground of a bathroom floor. Overtime Julian’s brothers are sent to a foster home up north leaving Julian all alone. Julian starts his own revolution at the camp in a democratic way fighting back against Caballo. When Julian plays his last trick on Caballo he is forced to leave camp where he meets Tomas a man who is fixing up a boat to illegally transport people from Cuba back to Miami. Julian wants his parents to be included in that group and on his adventure back to Cuba he is in for the trip of his life. 

Author and artist Enrique Flores-Galbis has written this story based on his own experiences as one of the 14,000 Cuban children sent from Cuba to the U.S. without their parents in 1961 by Operation Pedro Pan, the largest exodus ever in the Western hemisphere of unaccompanied children.

Suggested Delivery: Independent or Guided Reading 


Lexile Level: 790L

Key Vocabulary: Revolution, Pedro Pan Operation, immigrant, passport, refugee, illegal

Web Resources:

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozty5FRtpZs

Comprehension Strategies:

Before Reading: Show students a map point how where Cuba is located and we Miami is located. Explain students what the Pedro Pan Operation is using the website http://www.pedropan.org/category/history

After Reading: Have students in pairs compose a Poems For Two Voices, one of the voices being an immigrant child coming to the United States on the Pedro Pan Operation.


Writing: Students will go home and interview their grandparents or an elderly friend. Find out where they are from? How did they get to America? Where are their parents from? This will spark a great immigration unit.