Margarita Engle

A girl and her community celebrate the arrival of the water man when he comes on his weekly visit to distribute water to a Cuban village. Includes author's note.

It's the Festival of Lights in Nepal, and today is the day to honor dogs! Brothers Alu and Bhalu wander the streets of Kathmandu, passing by twirling kites and bamboo swings, looking for a dog to feed. But as night falls, their task begins to feel hopeless, until they spot a small black dog who is in need of a friend. This sweet story presents an important Hindu holiday through the eyes of two young boys, making it relatable for both those familiar...

It is 1896. Cuba has fought three wars for independence and still is not free. People have been rounded up in reconcentration camps with too little food and too much illness. Rosa is a nurse, but she dares not go to the camps. So she turns hidden caves into hospitals for those who know how to find her. Black, white, Cuban, Spanish-Rosa does her best for everyone. Yet who can heal a country so torn apart by war? Using the true story of the folk hero...

When you wander down a leafy path I can smell your invisible trail... This cozy story gently teaches children what to do if they lose their way and reassures them that a search-and-rescue dog can find them wherever they are. And once a child is found, the dog will bring people to make sure that everyone gets home safe and sound. Full of interesting facts about search-and-rescue dogs and tips for young children in case they get lost, Margarita...

As the Panama Canal turns 100, Newbery Honor-winner Margarita Engle tells the story of its creation in this powerful new YA historical novel in verse. How can such a narrow bridge of land be so important? One hundred years ago, the world celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal. It was a miracle. Where a mountain once stood was now a path of water connecting the world's two largest oceans. But creating a miracle is no easy task. For only a few coins...

WINNER OF THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL! Girls cannot be drummers. Long ago on an island filled with music, no one questioned that rule-until the drum dream girl. In her city of drumbeats, she dreamed of pounding tall congas and tapping small bongós. She had to keep quiet. She had to practice in secret. But when at last her dream-bright music was heard, everyone sang and danced and decided that both girls and boys should be free to drum and dream. Inspired...

As a little girl, Teresa Carreño loved to let her hands dance across the beautiful keys of the piano. If she felt sad, music cheered her up, and when she was happy, the piano helped her share that joy. Soon she was writing her own songs and performing in grand cathedrals. Then a revolution in Venezuela forced her family to flee to the United States. Teresa felt lonely in this unfamiliar place, where few of the people she met spoke Spanish. Worst...

This fictionalized first-person biography-in-verse of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra follows the early years of the child who grew up to pen Don Quixote, the first modern novel. The son of a gambling, vagabond barber-surgeon, Miguel looks to his own imagination for an escape from his family's troubles and finds comfort in his colorful daydreams. At a time when access to books was limited and imaginative books were considered evil, Miguel is inspired...

Fourteen-year-old Mateo and other Caribbean islanders face discrimination, segregation, and harsh working conditions when American recruiters lure them to the Panamanian rain forest in 1906 to build the great canal.

While visiting her abuelo in Cuba, a young girl helps him sell frutas, singing the name of each fruit as they walk, and after she returns to the United States, they exchange letters made of abrazos--hugs. Includes historical and cultural notes.