The Surrender Tree / El Árbol de la Rendición - by Margarita Engle (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle For Freedom / El árbol de la rendición: poemas de la lucha de cuba por su libertad is a lyrical, Newbery Honor-winning history in poems, and this bilingual edition has the Spanish and English text available in one book.

¿La Guerra Chiquita?
¿Cómo puede haber una guerra chiquita?
¿Acaso algunas muertes
son más pequeñas que otras,
dejan madres
que lloran
un poco menos?

It is 1896. Cuba has fought three wars for independence and still is not free. People have been rounded up in reconcentration camps with too little food and too much illness. Rosa is a nurse, but she dares not go to the camps. So she turns hidden caves into hospitals for those who know how to find her.

Black, white, Cuban, Spanish--Rosa does her best for everyone. Yet who can heal a country so torn apart by war?

Using the true story of the folk hero Rosa la Bayamesa, acclaimed poet Margarita Engle gives us another gripping, breathtaking account of a tumultuous period in Cuban history.

A 2009 Newbery Honor Book
Winner of the 2009 Pura Belpré Medal for Narrative
Winner of the 2009 Bank Street - Claudia Lewis Award
A 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year

Review Quotes

"Engle writes her new book in clear, short lines of stirring free verse. Caught by the compelling narrative voices, many readers will want to find out more." --Booklist, Starred Review

"A powerful narrative in free verse . . . haunting." --The Horn Book

"Hauntingly beautiful, revealing pieces of Cuba's troubled past through the poetry of hidden moments." --School Library Journal

"Young readers will come away inspired by these portraits of courageous ordinary people." --Kirkus Reviews

"The poems are short but incredibly evocative." --Voice of Youth Advocates

About the Author

Margarita Engle is the Cuban American author of many books, including the verse novels Your Heart, My Sky: With a Star in My Hand, The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor winner; and Forest World. Her verse memoirs include Soaring Earth and Enchanted Air, which received the Pura Belpré Award, a Walter Dean Myers Award Honor, and was a finalist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, among others. Her picture books include Drum Dream Girl Dancing Hands, and The Flying Girl. Follow her on Twitter @margaritapoet and on Instagram @englemargarita

Margarita Engle es la autora cubanoamericana de muchas novelas en verso, entre las que se incluyen Tu corazón, mi cielo; Con una estrella en la mano; El árbol de la rendición, ganadora del premio de honor Newbery; y La selva. También ha escrito dos libros de memorias en verso: La tierra al vuelo y Aire encantado, de los cuáles el último recibió el premio Pura Belpré, la medalla de honor de Walter Dean Myers en la categoría de jóvenes lectores y fue finalista del premio YALSA a la excelencia en no ficción, entre otros. Sus libros ilustrados incluyen Manos que bailan, Un pregón de frutas, y La joven aviadora. Margarita nació en Los Angeles, pero desarrolló un fuerte apego por la patria de su madre durante visitas veraniegas a sus parientes en la isla. Continúa visitando Cuba tan frecuentemente como le es posible, Visítala en MargaritaEngle.com o síguela en Twitter en @margaritapoet y en Instagram en @englemargarita.