The Poet Slave of Cuba
A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano
By Margarita Engle; Sean Qualls (Illustrator)
(Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), Hardcover, 9780805077063, 192pp.)
Publication Date: April 4, 2006
Other Editions of This Title: Paperback
Categories: People & Places - Central & South America, Poetry - General, Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism
 |     |
A lyrical biography of a Cuban slave who escaped to become a celebrated poet.
Born into the household of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty. Powerful, haunting poems and breathtaking illustrations create a portrait of a life in which even the pain of slavery could not extinguish the capacity for hope.
The Poet Slave of Cuba is the winner of the 2008 Pura Belpre Medal for Narrative and a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Margarita Engle is a Cuban American poet, novelist, and journalist whose work has been published in many countries. She is the author of young adult nonfiction books and novels in verse including The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor Book, Hurricane Dancers, The Firefly Letters, and Tropical Secrets. She lives in northern California. Sean Qualls is the illustrator of The Baby on the Way and Powerful Words. He lives with his wife and their son in Brooklyn, New York.
* "An absolutely lovely book . . . that should be read by young and old, black and white, Anglo and Latino."
--School Library Journal, starred review
* "Readers will hear the stories--and never forget them."
--Booklist, starred review
* "A work of literary imagination. Engle's skillful portrait will spark readers' interest in Manzano's own poetry."
--Horn Book, starred review
* "The moving poetry and finely crafted story will draw readers in and leave them in tears and in awe."
--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
 |
Flight Behavior Barbara Kingsolver Harper |
 |
The Art Forger Barbara Shapiro Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill |
 |
Sweeth Tooth Ian McEwan Nan A. Talese |
 |
The Light Between Oceans ML Steadman Scribner |
