Miguel y su valiente caballero: El joven Cervantes sueña a don Quijote

by Margarita Engle, Raúl Colón (Illustrator)

Overview

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra finds refuge from his difficult childhood by imagining the adventures of a brave but clumsy knight.

Now available in Spanish, this fictionalized first-person biography in verse of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra follows the early years of the child who grows up to pen Don Quixote, the first modern novel. The son of a vagabond barber-surgeon, Miguel looks to his own imagination for an escape from his family's troubles and finds comfort in his colorful daydreams.

At a time when access to books is limited and imaginative books are considered evil, Miguel is inspired by storytellers and wandering actors who perform during festivals. He longs to tell stories of his own. When Miguel is nineteen, four of his poems are published, launching the career of one of the greatest writers in the Spanish language.

Award-winning author Margarita Engle's distinctive picture book depiction of the childhood of the father of the modern novel, told in a series of free verse poems, is enhanced by Raúl Colón's stunning illustrations. Back matter includes a note from both the author and illustrator as well as additional information on Cervantes and his novel Don Quixote.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682630204
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	03/06/2018
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 12.00(h) x 0.13(d)
Language:	Spanish
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Margarita Engle is the Cuban American author of many verse books, including a Newbery Honor winner, The Surrender Tree; a PEN USA Award winner, The Lightning Dreamer; and a verse memoir, Enchanted Air, winner of many awards, including an inaugural Walter Dean Myers Award Honor. Margarita's books have also received three Pura Belpré Awards and four Américas Awards, as well as a Jane Addams Award, International Reading Association Award, and the Charlotte Zolotow Award. In 2017, the Poetry Foundation named her the Young People's Poet Laureate. Margarita grew up in Los Angeles but developed a deep attachment to her mother's homeland during summers with her extended family in Cuba. She was trained as a botanist and agronomist before becoming a full-time poet and novelist.

Raúl Colón was born in New York City in December of 1952 and moved with his parents in the 1960s to Caguas, Puerto Rico, where he studied commercial art. Colón is a versatile and acclaimed illustrator whose work has appeared in important national publications. An award-winning illustrator of over thirty books for children, Colón has received a Golden Kite Award, a Pura Belpré Award, and both a gold and silver medal in The Original Art show. He lives in New City, New York.

Interviews

“Young readers will relate to Miguel’s constant daydreaming and to his wild imaginings of a hero who can right wrongs…. Teresa Mlawer and Georgina Lázaro’s Spanish translation of Miguel’s Brave Knight (2017) ring true to Engle’s poetic voice.”

Editorial Reviews

★ "With the assistance of Mlawer and Lázaro, National Young People's Poet Laureate Engle brings to children the childhood of the great storyteller Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra in his native tongue. . . .the Spanish translation by Mlawer and Lázaro beautifully captures the rhythm and language of the original. . . . Colón's remarkable pen-and-ink-and-watercolor illustrations have an old-masters quality that perfectly complements the narrative. . . This is a worthy translation of a beautiful and engaging book."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

"Young readers will relate to Miguel's constant daydreaming and to his wild imaginings of a hero who can right wrongs. . . . Teresa Mlawer and Georgina Lázaro's Spanish translation of Miguel's Brave Knight (2017) ring true to Engle's poetic voice."—Booklist

From the Publisher

Engle’s poems are lyrical yet direct… Colón’s pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations (inspired by the prints of Gustav Doré) accompany every poem bringing Engle’s words into sharp focus…. An intriguing, lightly fictionalized introduction to an iconic author, this will encourage readers to learn more about the first modern novel."

STARRED REVIEW Booklist

★ 2018-01-13
With the assistance of Mlawer and Lázaro, National Young People's Poet Laureate Engle brings to children the childhood of the great storyteller Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra in his native tongue.Cervantes, recognized as one of the most important writers in the Spanish language, is also the creator of Don Quixote, one of the noblest literary knights of all time. In her trademark free-verse style, Engle tells the story of young Cervantes, the son of a barber-surgeon and gambler, and of the precariousness of the family's economic situation due to his father's debts. Weaving fact together with fiction, the author imagines that the seeds to the famous literary creation can be found in Miguel's difficult childhood. Originally published in English, the Spanish translation by Mlawer and Lázaro beautifully captures the rhythm and language of the original: "Huimos de noche, / hacia Madrid, / con la esperanza de un futuro / sin / temores. / ¿Dónde encontraremos ese futuro imposible? / ¿Quizá solo en las páginas de mi / imaginación?" Colón's remarkable pen-and-ink-and-watercolor illustrations have an old-masters quality that perfectly complements the narrative and brings to life the olive-skinned cast of Renaissance Spaniards.This is a worthy translation of a beautiful and engaging book. (author's, illustrator's, historical, biographical, literary notes) (Picture book/poetry. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews