Three books deal with painful experiences
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Words can heal, connect and sustain. Characters in three new children's books use written words to help them deal with painful circumstances.
Neftali Reyes, the shy, imaginative boy in Pam Munoz Ryan's "The Dreamer" (Scholastic Press, ages 9 to 12) daydreams to shield himself from his father, a dominating man with no use for dreams.
Neftali's stepmother encourages and supports him. But both are overshadowed by the strong personality of the father, who cannot bear the thought of a weak son.
Neftali loses himself in books, captivated by the rhythm of certain words. He copies them onto slips of paper and hides them in a drawer.
Neftali also collects things: Shells, beetles, seedpods and nests. He's always looking down to see insects or up to look for birds in the tops of trees.
His dream is to work at Uncle Orlando's newspaper, writing articles. It is a man like Uncle Orlando, not his father, that Neftali hopes to become.
When Neftali's family goes to the seashore, the boy makes a hideout where he reads, safe from his father's ridicule. Two swans become his only companions.
Tragically, one of the swans is wounded by a hunter. Neftali spends his remaining vacation days vainly attempting to save the beloved creature's life.
Although it is difficult for Neftali to defy his father, his will to write is stronger than his fear. The adult Neftali becomes a poet, signing his poems Pablo Neruda. The daydreaming child of the story, is, in fact, the Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet.
Inspired by Neruda, Ms. Ryan intersperses the chapters of her fictional biography with poetry that reflects Neftali's thoughts and actions. Soft, stippled pencil illustrations by Peter Sis capture perfectly the ambiguity and imagery inherent in all poetry.
In Patricia MacLachlan's quietly delightful "Word After Word After Word" (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins Publishers, ages 8 to 12) readers join a classroom of fourth-graders as their teacher, Miss Cash, introduces them to Ms. Mirabel. She will spend the next six weeks inspiring them to write.
First Published July 13, 2010 12:00 am
