In 1938, eleven-year-old Esther joins her father in tropical, multicultural Cuba, where they toil together to rescue the rest of their Jewish family from persecution in Poland. Includes notes about the author's grandmother, on whom the story is based.

Choosing to recite a poem for Move Up Day in her kindergarten class, Ava gets the confidence she needs with the help of her Daddy and the one-of-a-kind dress he has created for this special occasion.