To Go Singing Through the World: The Childhood of Pablo Neruda [Hardcover]

Deborah Kogan Ray (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

Pablo Neruda grew up in the rough and wild frontier town of Temuco, Chile. His father was a railroad man and not inclined to draw out the introspective boy. However, his stepmother, descended from the Mapuche people, was gentle and nurturing and told him stories of Chile's native people. But in her husband's presence, she was as silent as Pablo. So the child found refuge in nature and in books. And secretly he wrote down his thoughts. With the encouragement of Gabriela Mistral, an award-winning poet, teacher, and friend, Neruda's writing grew resonant and powerful. At age sixteen he left Temuco for the university in Santiago and went on to become the "people's poet" and to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
 
Blending her telling of Neruda's childhood with excerpts from his own poetry and prose, Ms. Ray captures the people and places that inspired him in her rich watercolor illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6–Intermingling excerpts from the poet's writings with her own well-written prose, Ray has created an appealing look at the people and events that both propelled Neruda toward his writing career and shaped his political ideals. She focuses primarily on two influential women: his stepmother who, raising him from infancy after his mother's death, was–in his own words–the guardian angel of his childhood, and Gabriela Mistral, principal of the girls' division of his school and a noted poet in her own right. The former introduced him to his Chilean heritage, telling him stories of the indigenous peoples and instilling in him a love of the rain forest. The latter recognized his talent and introduced him to the art of poetry, in which he found his true voice. Ray's realistic craypas and charcoal illustrations beautifully bring his world to life. From the varied monochromatic hues of the lush rain forest to the brilliant colors of the Chilean marketplace, the evocative art captures both the activity of the developing town and the tranquility of nature. The story concludes with an English and Spanish transcription of Neruda's poem about how poetry captured his soul. An author's note, biographical sketches of Neruda and Mistral, and a chronology help to frame the story. An excellent introduction to the human face of poetry.–Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
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From Booklist

"I have come out of that landscape, that mud, that silence, to roam, to go singing through the world." Neruda's quote opens this strikingly illustrated picture-book biography of the poet's childhood, spent in a pioneer town in the Chilean rain forest. Ray combines her spare, lyrical telling with quotes from Neruda's writings. Although the transition between voices isn't always seamless, the effect is still powerful, and the immediacy of Neruda's well-chosen words will spark older children's interest and pull them into his story. The mix of voices works particularly well when describing Neruda's passionate connection with nature and how the solace he found there inspired his poetry. Like the words, Ray's accomplished, mixed-media illustrations create a visceral sense of the melancholy, rain-soaked forest and the bustling town. More biographical information, including a time line, and an author's note conclude this stirring portrait. For slightly older readers, suggest Poli Delano's When I Was a Boy Neruda Called Me Policarpo (2006). Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374376271
• ISBN-13: 978-0374376277
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.9 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,478,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deborah Kogan Ray is a painter and printmaker, who became an illustrator when she discovered she could take words, and make them into images. She became a writer when she discovered she take images and turn them into words. A self -described "research junky", she now specializes in writing and illustrating biographies about "people who should be much better known". She has written and illustrated 18 books and illustrated 54 in her career. Her books have received many awards, including the Coretta Scott King, Parents Choice and Bank Street Honors, 'Notables' from the American Library Association, NCSS/CBC for social studies, National Science Teachers of America, the International Reading Association, and state reading associations. Her books have been featured on Book-TV, and Reading Rainbow. Her latest title Wanda Gag: The Girl Who Lived to Draw, published by Viking/Penguin in 2008, was picked by on-line reviewers for the "Cybil" award in non-fiction, and won an ALA Notable for 2009.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars perceptive and powerful picture-book biography for all ages, October 15, 2009

By 

Experienced Editor (Illinois, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: To Go Singing Through the World: The Childhood of Pablo Neruda (Hardcover)

Pablo Neruda, winner of the 1971 Nobel Prize in literature, has been called "the greatest poet of the 20th century--in any language." But before Neruda achieved international acclaim, he was once a shy, stuttering boy in a pioneer town in southern Chile, South America.
This extraordinary picture book delves into Neruda's unique childhood. Author Deborah Kogan Ray seamlessly weaves together excerpts from the poet's poems, memoirs, and verse autobiography, along with her own perceptive and powerful narrative, to create a portrait of his early years. The author's evocative full-page watercolor illustrations underscore the magic and mystery of the text.
Growing up in the shadow of the volcano Mount Llaima, Pablo spent his days silently observing the people in his small town or exploring the wild and wonder-filled rainforest that surrounded his frontier home. He longed to express what he saw and heard and felt, but the words would not come out. Teased and bullied by his classmates, young Pablo retreated into himself. He "wore his silence like an overcoat." His words found an outlet only when the boy began to write poems in his math notebook.
Not until his teens, when the poet Gabriela Mistral arrived in his town as head of the girls' upper school and slowly coaxed him out of his silence, did Pablo share this notebook. It was Mistral who sent him off to university, where he flourished.
Pablo's time and place may be very different from ours, but shyness, bullying, and the need for self-expression will always exist. The shy, perhaps bullied reader may recognize a kindred spirit and gain courage and hope from Pablo's story.
Like a good poem, this rich picture-book biography can be appreciated on more than one level. It invites young readers into the world of poetry by bringing to life an ordinary yet extraordinary boy. Sharing Naruda's childhood may foster in readers a recognition of poetry as more than just an attractive arrangement of words on a page. Readers of To Go Singing Through the World will be led on to savor works by the poet himself.

4.0 out of 5 stars To Go Singing Through the World, July 12, 2009

By 

Ms.Jackie (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Go Singing Through the World: The Childhood of Pablo Neruda (Hardcover)

"I applaud this book for bringing attention to a great Latin American poet many children in the US may not already know about. Lyrically written.