Margarita Engle

This new picture-book from Cuban-American poet and children's author Margarita Engle follows the story of one day in the life of a young boy and his family, as they make the trip from their home in the country to big city Havana for an important celebration. Forced by circumstance - namely, the U.S. embargo against trade with Cuba that has been in place since the late 1950s - to improvise, the young narrator's family continues to use the same automobile that belonged to the boy's show more great-grandfather, making stop-gap repairs and replacements, as needed. On the drive into the city, the boy sees many other vintage cars that have been likewise adapted, but none appeal to him as his own family's vehicle - nicknamed Cara Cara for the sounds it makes - does...

Envisioned by the author as a tribute to the ingenuity and perseverance of the Cuban people, in the face of the poverty and scarcity that are the result of the embargo, All the Way to Havana is an engaging book, one which pairs an evocative narrative from Engle with lovely artwork from illustrator Mike Curato. The illustrations, created in mixed media, are a bit of a departure for Curato, after his Little Elliot books, and are apparently the product of a trip that the artist took to Cuba, in which he stayed with the author's cousins. Colorful, full of motion and energy, the visuals here are a perfect complement to the text. Although not generally a car lover, I was fascinated by the idea of a society in which vehicles from half a century before are still in common use, and was moved by the themes of creativity and love of family highlighted in the story. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories featuring Cuba, the embargo on Cuba, or the experiences of impoverished people in general. show less

How would you feel if your Mom was sent to jail and you were sent to live with a great-uncle you'd never met? I know I'd feel scared. Mountain Dog is the story of Tony's adaptation to a new life with the help of a kind community and a loving dog named Gabe. Gabe helps Tony learn to live in the present, enjoy the moment and celebrate life.

I am amazed by Margarita Engle's ability to write from both a young boy's and a dog's point of view. Both voices are honest and real. Dogs can sense show more people's moods and feelings. Engle brings this to life in her potent verse:

"Gabe the Dog: Togetherness"
"I don't understand sadness,
but I can smell the way it make
they boy feel unnaturally heavy,
so that his breath doesn't seem
to be made
of air."

Tony's sadness about his Mom is vivid in Engle's words:

"Now, at night, my dreams
are filled with the spiky fences
around fighting-dog kennels

and the electrified ones
around prisons

and the wall between Mom's mind
and mine."

Share Mountain Dog with friends and family, young and old, for an exceptional reading and life experience. show less

Beautiful book in verse, a biography of Margarita's childhood as a daughter of a Cuban mother and an American painter father. She spent summers visiting her relatives in Cuba, but after the Cuban revolution the family could no longer travel there, and young Margarita doesn't understand the politics, only the reality of missing her abuelita, and of the whispers of her American neighbors that her parents are spies. The poems portray the vibrant colors, smells, sights and sounds of the show more "crocodile-shaped" island, where young Margarita feels she is almost another girl entirely, a confident girl and not the shy bookworm with no American friends. Peppered with Spanish vocabulary and descriptions of Cuban culture, as well as a story about a girl caught between two worlds, growing up with an appreciation for all cultures, this charming book ends with the author's heartfelt plea that perhaps someday the travel ban will be lifted so that "an ordinary family" will be united again. And her wishes came true, just as the book was being published, with the thawing of relations with Cuba! Good book for all ages. Winner of the inaugural Arnold Adoff Poetry Award for Teens, 2016. https://www.kent.edu/virginiahamiltonconference/arnold-adoff-poetry-award-recipi... show less

Cuban-American children's author Margarita Engle spins the story of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in this poetic picture-book biography, following the life of the celebrated 16th-century Spanish author from his young childhood through the publication of his classic work, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha. Detailing the hardship and poverty that Cervantes endured, because of his barber-father's gambling habit, the poems also highlight the crucial role that imagination and show more storytelling had in the boy's development and spiritual survival. Throughout his troubled youth, he dreamed of a brave knight, and one day he penned the story of that knight...

Having grown up adoring the story of Don Quixote - my family had an old LP of the original cast recording of the fabulous musical production, Man of La Mancha, based upon Cervantes' immortal tale, and I had all the songs memorized by the time I was eight - I was eager to see what Margarita Engle and illustrator Raúl Colón would do with their source material. Miguel's Brave Knight is a resounding success, both as an informative work and as a poetic one. I really enjoyed Engle's narrative, appreciating both her specific word use - I loved her description of pages as being door-like (no doubt both in dimension and in function!) - and her overarching themes regarding the power of daydreaming and story to sustain us during tough times. I also found Colón's artwork, created using pen and ink and watercolor, immensely appealing. I loved the pairing of realistic events from Cervantes' life with imaginary ones from his dream world, and how the two mingled and interacted on the page! The effect was incredibly rich, emphasizing the interconnected nature of thought and action, not to mention word and art.

In sum: a lovely book, one that can be read as picture-book biography and as poetry. Highly recommended to anyone looking to introduce Cervantes and his great work to young children. As for me? This was a timely reminder that I still need to read the original! show less