Once there was a little boy named Neftalí who loved wild things wildly and quiet things quietly. From the moment he could talk, he surrounded himself with words. Neftalí discovered the magic between the pages of books. When he was sixteen, he began publishing his poems as Pablo Neruda.
Pablo wrote poems about the things he loved—things made by his friends in the café, things found at the marketplace, and things he saw in nature. He wrote about the people of Chile and their stories of struggle. Because above all things and above all words, Pablo Neruda loved people.
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“A visual and thematic stunner.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“Brown and Paschkis paint a compelling portrait of a man who saw the world as a joyful, complex, and beautiful poem waiting to be unveiled.” —Publishers Weekly
“Brown’s succinct lines read like a poem themselves, and they emphasize the infinite places writers find inspiration, from seashores to coal mines to the faces of people they love.” —Booklist
“Impassioned (story)telling combine with Paschkis’s vibrant, decorative style for a book high in child appeal.” —School Library Journal
“It all adds up to an intriguing taste of Neruda’s themes and concerns, winningly dramatized in the splendor of Paschkis’s illustrations.” —Horn Book Magazine
Monica Brown is the author of several bilingual books for children inspired by her Peruvian-American heritage. She is a recipient of the Américas Award for Children’s Literature and a professor of English at Northern Arizona University.
www.monicabrown.net
Julie Paschkis has illustrated many award-winning books, including Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella by Paul Fleischman and Through Georgia’s Eyes by Rachel Rodríguez. For this book, Julie traveled to Chile to see Neruda’s home and the people that inspired him.
www.juliepaschkis.com
Monica BrownJulie Paschkis
NCTE Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts, Orbis Pictus Honor Book