Margarita Engle

In early twentieth-century Cuba, bandits terrorize the countryside as a young farm girl struggles with dyslexia. Based on the life of the author's grandmother.

"In this ... memoir, Margarita Engle, the first Latina woman to receive a Newbery Honor, tells of growing up as a child of two cultures during the Cold War"--Amazon.com. 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....

One hundred years ago, the world celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, which connected the world’s two largest oceans and signaled America’s emergence as a global superpower. It was a miracle, this path of water where a mountain had stood—and creating a miracle is no easy thing. Thousands lost their lives, and those who survived worked under the harshest conditions for only a few silver coins a day.
    

...

"A middle grade verse history of Latinos in the United States, told through the voices of many and varied individuals ranging from Juan Ponce de León to modern-day sixth graders"--

Illustrations and easy-to-read text tell of travelers who have left their homelands to bring their talents, hopes, and determination to a land where Liberty's light shines for all.

"Bold, graphic portraits and beautiful poems present famous and lesser-known Latinos from varied backgrounds who have faced life's challenges in creative ways."--Provided by publisher.

"When Destiny was found by the Sloth Institute in Costa Rica, she was sick, thin, and one of her eyes was closed and not working. The Sloth Institute took her in and introduced her to other sloths as she started to recover. She never regained the use of her one eye, but that didn't stop Destiny from hanging out with her new buddies, or getting healthier and stronger. Last August, Destiny was fitted for her tracking collar and released back into the...

"Cuando visitamos a abuelo, lo ayudo a vender frutas, pregonando los nombres de cada una mientras caminamos: nuestros pasos repican como tambores, nuestras manos, cual maracas, agitan las brillantes siluetas de las frutas mientras cantamos...con ritmo 'Mango limón coco melón naranja toronja plátano piña' ...Vivo lejos de abuelo, pero podemos cantar rimas de ida y vuelta entre nuestros dos países, nuestros versos en papel vuelan como aves...

"De niña, a Teresa Carreño le encantaba dejar que sus manos bailaran a lo largo de las hermosas teclas del piano. Si se sentía triste, la música le levantaba el ánimo y, cuando estaba feliz, el piano la ayudaba a compartir esa alegría. Pronto comenzó a escribir sus propias canciones y a tocar en grandes catedrales. Entonces, una revolución en Venezuela hizo que su familia tuviera que huir a Estados Unidos. Teresa se sentía sola en...