When I Was a Boy Neruda Called Me Policarpo: A Memoir [Hardcover]

Poli Delano (Author), Manuel Monroy (Illustrator), Sean Higgins (Translator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Poli Délano’s real name is Enrique. But when his mother was expecting him, Pablo Neruda, the great Chilean poet, took to calling him Policarpo. The name stuck and today Enrique Délano, also a noted Chilean writer, is still known as Poli. Besides his nickname, Poli Délano owes many happy childhood memories to Neruda. For a time, he and his parents, who were Chilean diplomats, lived in Mexico with the poet, his wife Delia, and their ornery pet badger. This delightful book recalls the period when he saw the fun-loving, eccentric Nerudas nearly every day. He learned a wide array of things from the man he called Tío Pablo — how to swim, what fate is, how to eat grasshoppers, how to talk to the spider-woman at the fair, and how to stand up to Nazis and bullies. Neruda’s almost childlike sense of joy, his love of nature, and his great enthusiasm for the world resonates with young readers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up Based on the author's childhood remembrances of when he and his diplomat parents lived with Tío Pablo in Mexico, these seven chapters reveal both the genius and the eccentricities of the Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet. Délano tells of his adventures with the Nerudas' unusual pets, El Niño the badger and Renata the tarantula; of seeing the Tarzans of Acapulco; and, most importantly, of the life lessons that Neruda taught him. These included everything from how to eat grasshoppers to the importance of standing up for one's beliefs, particularly in the face of political injustice. The chapters are short, well written, and filled with interesting details that will open up a new and exotic world to intermediate readers. A translation of one of Neruda's poems appears between each chapter. The selections, though, except for the more accessible Poetry or The Great Tablecloth, are rather difficult, and young readers will need help and encouragement to discuss them. A biographical note gives a concise account of Neruda's place in the worlds of poetry and politics, and it will serve as good background information for class discussions on his life. Monroy's pen-and-sepia-toned drawings at the head of each chapter capture the innocence of Délano and the adventuresome spirit of his tío. They are at times humorous, at times dramatic, but always enticing, and they serve as a good indication of what the chapter will reveal. A refreshing addition to celebrity-studded biography collections in need of some literary substance. Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. Chilean writer Poli Delano recalls experiences during his childhood in Mexico. Since his parents were close friends with Chilean Nobel Prize Laureate Pablo Neruda and his wife, he called them Tio Pablo and Tia Delia. Whether munching on fried worms, pitting a walking stick insect against a tarantula in deadly combat, or explaining the ways of the world in a few words, Neruda is a larger-than-life figure in Delano's memoirs. Slotted between seven episodic stories are six poems by Neruda. Although their words are not difficult to read, they are not particularly accessible to children. As Delano himself recalls about reading one as a youth, "I didn't understand what the words meant, but I thought they were beautiful." Monroy, a Mexican artist, contributes a number of small vignettes as well as a stylized, full-page illustration at the beginning of each story. A six-page biography of Neruda is appended. This unique presentation will be of interest mainly to readers already familiar with the poet. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books (March 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0888997264
• ISBN-13: 978-0888997265
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,792,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)