Peter Sís

Pam Muñoz Ryan

A fictionalized biography of the Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who grew up a painfully shy child, ridiculed by his overbearing father, but who became one of the most widely-read poets in the world. Includes author's note about the poet.

The Dreamer

maitha mana

"You are wrong. There is always something burning beneath the surface. Sometimes it takes years to erupt. But eventually it will. Nephew, they have silenced La Manana, but they will never silence my pen." He did not see a man defeated. He saw a man ready to fight another day.

This is a book we can all relate to. Whereas in today's world, daydreaming is another term for 'absent-minded'. Where books are considered waste of paper and money. But just like Neftali, at times we have to fake our outsides, just to polish our true innerselves.

"Does a metamorphosis begin from the outside in? Or from the inside out?"

Nadine 

Wonderful - loving Munoz Ryan more and more the more I read of her. Gives a fictionalized account of the young Pablo Neruda based on early documents and essays - beautifully written explaining the difficulty growing up with an intolerant and tyrannical father.

Jeni Enjaian

It's not often that I could use a single word to describe a book. I can with this one. 

Beautiful. 

I did not want the story to end. Ryan, as usual, perfectly captures the child's voice. The story is strongest when Neftalí is youngest. She also does a brilliant job, in conjugation with the illustrator, of weaving Neruda's poetic mysticism through the entire book. 

I cannot say more than that I strongly recommend that everyone, no matter their age, read this book.

The Dreamer

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