Pablo Neruda Poet of the People by Monica Brown illustrated by Julie Paschkis

Last week IBBY Australia hosted an IBBY delegate from Chile and during a visit to a wonderful school library she mentioned Pablo Neruda. The skilled Teacher-Librarian quickly pulled this book from her shelves. This didn't surprise me because I know she loves the illustrator Julie Paschkis. Our IBBY Chile delegate is also a published poet.

Author site blurb: Once there was a little boy named Neftalí who loved wild things wildly and quiet things quietly. From the moment he could talk, he surrounded himself with words. Neftal' discovered the magic between the pages of books. When he was sixteen, he began publishing his poems as Pablo Neruda. Pablo wrote poems about the things he loved-things made by his friends in the café, things found at the marketplace, and things he saw in nature. He wrote about the people of Chile and their stories of struggle. Because above all things and above all words, Pablo Neruda loved people.

Pablo Neruda won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. He died in 1973. His poetry is written for adults and older teenagers and there is some controversy about his life which is only appropriate for an adult audience. Here is a some information you could use with an Upper Primary group. 

This book for young children is just stunning. The way in which the words (both in Spanish and in English) weave around the page in bright vivid colors (illustrated in a folk-art style by Julie Paschkis), demonstrate how Neruda could make words flow from his pen in magical patterns evoking colors and seasons and animals and most of all, emotions. Rhapsody in Books

The art by Paschkis is extraordinary.  Her paintings combine moments throughout Neruda’s life with words.  The words grow on leaves and trees.  They show in the sun and the moon.  They form the very ground.  It is an expressive way to show the power of words in Neruda’s life as well as how they came from all that surrounds him. Waking Brain Cells

Pablo Neruda Poet of the People was published in 2011 and while it is still available the hardcover edition is very expensive and I am sure well out of reach for most school libraries. There is a bilingual paperback edition , however, which is only around $20. Search for this ISBN 9781250812537. This book would be useful for High School libraries who may be studying the poetry of Pablo Neruda. 

Here are some other books illustrated by Julie Paschkis:

Here are some other biographies by Monica Brown: