Rating: 5 out of 5 (excellent)
Review: A fictionalized biograpy about the poet, Pablo Neruda, whose real name is Neftali Reyes. Neftali is a dreamer of words, he collects words, he's amazed by them and savors them. He grows up being ridiculed by his strict dictator of a father. At one point, the father takes him and his sister as small children to what seems to be a vacation by the water. However, he instructs both children to go deep into the ocean (even though they do not know how to swim) so that they can get stronger. Neftali winds up saving his sister on more than one occasion but his father is a ruthless man. Neftali eventually grows up and becomes aware of the problems and issues facing the Mapuche people in his Chilean homeland and becomes proactive in their plight. This is an ALA Notable Children's Book. Excellent.
Reviewed by: e l
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