Yes, this is another book review. Already. When I Was a Boy Neruda Called Me Policarpo is a memoir by the Chiléan author Poli Délano, of a childhood frequently spent in the company of the great poet Pablo Neruda. This is a simple, yet moving little book with charming illustrations. It takes place during turbulent, even dangerous times when Neruda was in exile from Chilé, but the child Poli remembers the small moments: the crazy badger that Neruda kept as a pet, Sunday outings, going to the market to search for the weird old junk that Neruda collected, a trip to Acalpulco … He also recalls the life-lessons Neruda taught him, about social justice and standing up for one's beliefs. Each chapter is separated from the next by Neruda's poetry; the poems give Poli's memories a context.
At the end of the book there is a short biography of Pablo Neruda. I love that Délano does not minimize Neruda's political beliefs. Not only can this book serve as an introduction to Neruda for young adult readers, but I would hope that it could also be used to explore some of the history of the last century: the rise of European fascism and the relationship that the U.S. has had with Central and South America.
This is a beautiful book, and certainly one that I will be recommending to my daughter's middle school teachers and librarian. (I suspect it will not be available in the Scholastic book order!)
One more, semi-related thing: If you have not seen the film Il Postino, you would not go amiss in looking it up and watching it. It tells the story of a simple rural postman who is befriended by Neruda, and has his life irrevocably changed. It is a beautiful film.
4 comments:
Now I want to read it, but I'm doubtful our library will have it, as they still have their panties in a bunch about 'And Tango Makes Three'. I'll let you know if they've got it (and I'm talking public library).
Ah, glorious censorship! I had to do a project on censorship for one of my classes, and I tracked the challenges to a movie called "That's A Family." The most public case brought against the movie was in a Northern California school district, though I know it's been banned across the country. (Can't have our children feeling good about any other kind of family than Nookyoolur families!) And don't get me started on gay penguins!
I ran into a fair number of teachers in my library classes who didn't seem to have a problem with censorship. It made me CRAZY!
Teachers okay with censorship!!! Well that really sucks, I guess I've been in my own slightly progressive little world too long! A librarian in an not-to-be-named town first told me about 'And Tango Makes Three', but I couldn't get a hold of a copy of it publicly for a student that could have really used the affirmation of his family (he had two moms and was struggling with it).
I was pleased that my next school actually had a copy on the shelf, until a mom from my class (oh the horrors) actually tried to get it removed from the library. No, I didn't read it to my class, she actually went looking for it and claimed her first grade daughter had told her about it. Really the mom had heard about it from other fundy moms that were trying to get it removed at another school in our district, and she wanted in on the action (her husband was a local tv news reporter).
Long story shart, after many hearings, the book can't be removed without opening up the district to civil rights actions, but my principal said the important lesson is to make sure that no more books like that make it on the shelf...ARGH!!! And it is being held on a shelf behind the library counter that is not visible and no one has access to it, but it's still IN the library ON the shelf.
"but my principal said the important lesson is to make sure that no more books like that make it on the shelf..."
No more books LIKE THAT? What, about penguins? (Just kidding.) I suspect it could still open them up for some legal action to limit access to it.
If you ever want good information on dealing with book challenges, check out this website:
http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
It's a teaching library (non-circulating) called the Cooperative Children's Book Center. They are located in Wisconsin and actually offer legal counsel to Wisconsin libraries, but they share the info with anyone.
You would want the Intellectual Freedom section in the menu, but check out the entire site. It's a treasure trove of bibliographies and more.
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