Based on the life of poet Pablo Neruda, this award-winning narrative is filled with poetic language and fanciful* imaginings.

    Neftalí is a sickly, day-dreaming boy whose father is determined that he will be an important businessman some day. But Neftalí loves words, nature and the poetry of life and doesn’t want to live the life his father wants for him.

    Pam Munoz Ryan has successfully blended the facts of Neruda’s life with her own lyrical* language to create an insightful and thought-provoking book for ages 9-13.

    Ryan has taken the simple facts of Neruda’s life and turned them into a story that is artfully told.

    Born Neftalí Reyes in Temuco, Chile, the poet began life as a shy, sickly outsider, far more interested in the natural world around him and the beauty of words than he was in his studies at school.

    He is filled with questions and curiosity*. The son of an overbearing* and sometimes cruel father, Neftalí finds support in his step-mother, his siblings* and his uncle.

    Ryan weaves fiction, fact and poetry into a story that is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking.

    Yet in the end, Neftalí succeeds and becomes a poet that is beloved by the world. (SD-Agencies)