# The Poet Slave of Cuba

**Author:** Margarita Engle
**Grade range:** Grades 7–12
**First published:** 2015
**Page count:** 185
**ISBN-13:** `9781466889637`
**ISBN-10:** `1466889632`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/the-poet-slave-of-cuba
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

A lyrical biography of a Cuban slave who escaped to become a celebrated poet. Born into the household of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty. Powerful, haunting poems and breathtaking illustrations create a portrait of a life in which even the pain of slavery could not extinguish the capacity for hope. The Poet Slave of Cuba is the winner of the 2008 Pura Belpre Medal for Narrative and a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year. Latino Interest.

## Where this book is assigned

### Pura Belpré Author Award

- **recommended** · 7th grade — [source: Pura Belpré Author Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2008 Belpré Author Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pura_Belpr%C3%A9_Award)
- **recommended** · 8th grade — [source: Pura Belpré Author Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2008 Belpré Author Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pura_Belpr%C3%A9_Award)
- **recommended** · 9th grade — [source: Pura Belpré Author Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2008 Belpré Author Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pura_Belpr%C3%A9_Award)
- **recommended** · 10th grade — [source: Pura Belpré Author Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2008 Belpré Author Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pura_Belpr%C3%A9_Award)
- **recommended** · 11th grade — [source: Pura Belpré Author Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2008 Belpré Author Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pura_Belpr%C3%A9_Award)
- **recommended** · 12th grade — [source: Pura Belpré Author Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2008 Belpré Author Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pura_Belpr%C3%A9_Award)

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