Bo jantiyès / A Cheeky Greeting

A Haitian Kreyòl-English story about family, curiosity, and the traditions that connect us.

Written by children’s author Tico Armand and illustrated by Michelle Julmisse, Bo jantiyès / A Cheeky Greeting begins with a simple question: Why does greeting family involve kissing so many cheeks—and are all of those people really family anyway?

Told through a child’s wonderfully curious perspective, the story explores a familiar Haitian tradition while opening a larger conversation about family, connection, culture, and belonging.

The Story Behind the Story

For Tico, the humor in A Cheeky Greeting comes from something deeply familiar: the rituals children inherit long before they fully understand them.

A kiss on one cheek. Then another. Another relative. Another introduction. Another person you’re told is family.

Beneath that playful childhood observation is a bigger idea—how culture is passed from one generation to the next through the seemingly ordinary things families do.

Book Details

Author: Tico Armand
Illustrator: Michelle Julmisse
Languages: Haitian Kreyòl and English
Format: Picture Book
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9781638451945
Collection: Ansanm

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Bo jantiyès / A Cheeky Greeting bilingual Haitian picture book cover by Tico Armand showing a child greeting a family member with a kiss

Bo jantiyès / A Cheeky Greeting

Written by Tico Armand • Illustrated by Michelle Julmisse

Authors of the Ansanm Haitian Kreyòl-English children’s book collection by Room to Read and Educa Vision

Part of the Ansanm Collection

A Cheeky Greeting is part of Ansanm, Room to Read’s first Haitian Kreyòl-English children’s book collection in the United States, created in partnership with Educa Vision.

The seven-book collection was distributed through First Book, bringing Haitian Kreyòl-English stories to educators and childcare providers across 44 states.