Author Visit from Maika and Maritza Moulite

9/16/2019

Denver Academy Middle and High School students enjoyed a visit from authors Maika and Maritza Moulite who are Haitian Americans that grew up in Miami, Florida. They weren't allowed to watch much TV when they were growing up, so they visited their local library and read a LOT! They shared photos of some of their favorite books, including "Harry Potter", "The Baby-Sitters Club", and "Pippi Longstocking". They loved these books, but they didn't see themselves in them, so they wanted to help create books that shared their own experiences as Haitian American women. According to Maritza, "The whole point of books is sharing the story." Maika agreed, saying "Let's write the story that we would've wished to read."

Their book "Dear Haiti, Love Aliane" is an epistolary novel, meaning it is written in a variety of formats including diary, police reports, text messages, letters, etc. They have a new book coming next Fall! Learn about it here: Green Book book.

They taught us some Haitian proverbs such as "An empty bag can't stand," meaning you should fill yourself with knowledge, and then they challenged us to create our own proverbs. Students created proverbs like,"Do not judge a plant based on how it grows," and "Life is a narrow bridge; it's best not to be afraid." After, a student shared "Why fit in when you were born to stand out?" Author Maika agreed, sharing the fact that she has alopecia and telling students to take when makes them different and embrace it.

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Author Visit from Maika and Maritza Moulite