Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People by Monica Brown has been nominated for the NFPB category of the CYBILS. And no wonder, this title introduces young readers to one of the world’s most famous poets. The words flow and swirl while readers discover that a young boy named Neftali loved the wild, words, and quiet things. His teacher, Gabriela Mistral encouraged him with books and Neftali decided he wanted to be a writer, too.
Neftali changed his name to Pablo Neruda as a teenager and began publishing poems. He found his poetic life in Santiago with his friends, writers and artists. But when Pablo discovered that coal miners were working in dangerous conditions, he realized their story must be told. Brown writes about Neruda’s rise as the “poet of the people” and of his harrowing escape when the government was after him.
Brown’s text is complimented and enhances by the illustrations of Julie Paschkis. They are detailed exquisite with Spanish and English words spilling throughout the two page spreads. One of the most stunning spreads is that of day and night in which Pablo’s love of opposites plays out. It guaranteed to make readers linger over the pages.
Brown includes an afterword and a resources following the biography.
Title: Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People
Author: Monica Brown
Illustrator: Julie Paschkis
Published: 2011
Pages: unpaged
Reading Level: K-3
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9198-4
Source: From the local library
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Happy Reading.
MsMac
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I’d have loved to see a sample of the illustrations… I love Neruda’s poetry and can’t wait to read a copy of this myself.