Best Books of the Year, School Library Journal
Children’s Book Award, International Reading Association (IRA)
Best Books, Kirkus Reviews
Junior Library Guild Selection, Junior Library Guild
North American Academy of the Spanish Language Award, Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Espanola
Americas Book Award, Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs
Choices, Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)

A bilingual biography of Jose Marti, who dedicated his life to the promotion of liberty-abolishment of slavery, political independence for Cuba, and intellectual independence from colonialism for all Latinos. Written in verse with excerpts from Marti’s seminal work, Versos sencillos.

Yo soy un hombre sincero De donde crece la palma,
Y antes de morirme quiero Echar mis versos del alma.

As a boy, Jose Marti was inspired by the natural world. He found freedom in the river that rushed to the sea and peace in the palmas reales that swayed in the wind. Freedom, he believed, was the inherent right of all men and women. But his home island of Cuba was colonized by Spain, and some of the people were enslaved by rich landowners. Enraged, Marti took up his pen and fought against this oppression through his writings. By age seventeen, he was declared an enemy of Spain and forced to leave his beloved island.

Marti traveled the world, speaking out for Cuba’s independence. But throughout his exile, he suffered from illness and homesickness. He found solace in New York’s Catskill Mountains, where nature inspired him once again to fight for independence.

Written in verse, with excerpts from Marti’s seminal Versos sencillos, this book is a beautiful tribute to a brilliant political writer and courageous fighter of freedom for all men and women.