This moving story about the birth of an artist is also a celebration of childhood, imagination, and the strength of the creative spirit. Ryan weaves sound poems and thought-provoking questions into her exquisitely crafted prose while Ss's delicate drawings transport readers to the lushness of the Chilean rainforest. Illustrations.
Pura Belpr Award Winner

A tender, transcendent, and meticulously crafted novel from Newbery Honoree, Pam Mu oz Ryan, and three-time Caldecott Honoree, Peter S s

From the time he is a young boy, Neftal hears the call of a mysterious voice. Even when the neighborhood children taunt him, and when his harsh, authoritarian father ridicules him, and when he doubts himself, Neftal knows he cannot ignore the call. He listens and follows as it leads him under the canopy of the lush rain forest, into the fearsome sea, and through the persistent Chilean rain on an inspiring voyage of self-discovery that will transform his life and, ultimately, the world.

Combining elements of magical realism with biography, poetry, literary fiction, and transporting illustrations, Pam Mu oz Ryan and Peter S s take readers on a rare journey of the heart and imagination as they explore the inspiring early life of the poet who became Pablo Neruda.