Library's review
Engle shares a memoir of her first 14 years in the United States during the Cold War as a Cuban- American. Engle conveys through poetic verse how she grappled with two cultures, travel bans, acceptance, and patriotism. Contents, Cold War Timeline, Author’s Note, Excerpt from Simple Verses
Publication
Atheneum Books for Young Readers (2015), Edition: Illustrated, 208 pages
Description
In this poetic memoir Engle, the first Latina woman to receive a Newbery Honor, tells of growing up as a child of two cultures during the Cold War. Her heart was in Cuba, her mother's tropical island country, a place so lush with vibrant life that it seems like a fairy tale kingdom. But most of the time she lived in Los Angeles, lonely in the noisy city and dreaming of the summers when she can take a plane through the enchanted air to her beloved island. When the hostility between Cuba and the United States erupted at the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Engle's worlds collided in the worst way possible. Would she ever get to visit her beautiful island again?
Awards
William Allen White Children's Book Award (Nominee — Grades 6-8 — 2018)
Golden Kite Award (Winner — Nonfiction — 2016)
Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award (Winner — 2016)
Skipping Stones Honor Award (2016)
Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature (Commended Title — 2016)
Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Award (Gold Award — 2015)
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction (Finalist — 2016)
NCTE Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels (Verse Novels — 2016)
Pura Belpré Award (Winner — 2016)
CCBC Choices (Biography and Autobiography — 2016)
Read Aloud Indiana Book Award (High School — 2017)
Notable Children's Book (Older Readers — 2016)
Nerdy Book Award (2015)
Tejas Star Reading List (2019)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Kids (Informational Books for Older Readers — 2015)
Language
Original language
English
Pages
208
Physical description
208 p.; 8.25 inches
ISBN
1481435221 / 9781481435222
DDC/MDS
811.54 |
Similar in this library
Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March by Lynda Blackmon Lowery
We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler (Jane Addams Honor Book (Awards)) by Russell Freedman
Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)) by Steve Sheinkin
The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible . . . on Schindler's List by Leon Leyson
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia (Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children (Awards)) by Candace Fleming