"No giant or dragon
is bigger or stronger
than the human imagination."

Engle's poems about Miguel's youth and young adulthood - constantly on the move because of his father's debts - are illuminated beautifully by Colón's watercolor and pen and ink artwork, soft, dreamy colors with delicate cross-hatching ever so slightly reminiscent of Maurice Sendak's.

Back matter includes an author's note, illustrator's note, historical note, biographical note, and "Don Quixote, A Cultural Icon."

Carle Museum horse exhibit ( )

This fictionalized, firstperson biography combines free verse with detailed pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations to convey the early life of the father of the modern novel and one of the greatest writers in the Spanish language, Miguel de Cervantes. Includes Author’s Note, Illustrator’s Note, Historical Note, Biographical Note, A Cultural Icon

Cuban-American children's author Margarita Engle spins the story of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in this poetic picture-book biography, following the life of the celebrated 16th-century Spanish author from his young childhood through the publication of his classic work, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha. Detailing the hardship and poverty that Cervantes endured, because of his barber-father's gambling habit, the poems also highlight the crucial role that imagination and storytelling had in the boy's development and spiritual survival. Throughout his troubled youth, he dreamed of a brave knight, and one day he penned the story of that knight...

Having grown up adoring the story of Don Quixote - my family had an old LP of the original cast recording of the fabulous musical production, Man of La Mancha, based upon Cervantes' immortal tale, and I had all the songs memorized by the time I was eight - I was eager to see what Margarita Engle and illustrator Raúl Colón would do with their source material. Miguel's Brave Knight is a resounding success, both as an informative work and as a poetic one. I really enjoyed Engle's narrative, appreciating both her specific word use - I loved her description of pages as being door-like (no doubt both in dimension and in function!) - and her overarching themes regarding the power of daydreaming and story to sustain us during tough times. I also found Colón's artwork, created using pen and ink and watercolor, immensely appealing. I loved the pairing of realistic events from Cervantes' life with imaginary ones from his dream world, and how the two mingled and interacted on the page! The effect was incredibly rich, emphasizing the interconnected nature of thought and action, not to mention word and art.

In sum: a lovely book, one that can be read as picture-book biography and as poetry. Highly recommended to anyone looking to introduce Cervantes and his great work to young children. As for me? This was a timely reminder that I still need to read the original! ( )

In a series of poems, Margarita Engle gives the reader a sense of Miguel Cervantes' life in the 16th century. Though his father's gambling causes much grief in the family, young Miguel is nevertheless a hopeful child who uses his imagination to right the wrongs he sees in his world. He conjures a story of a brave knight who will fight against book burnings, poverty, plague, and other evils of the time. Teachers in Sevilla and Madrid nurture his abilities, and his imaginary knight begins to take shape on the written page.
Each of the fifteen titled poems ("Happiness," "Disaster," "Learning to Write") are presented on a white background in a simple font. A lightly colored cursive title adds to the backdrop, reminding the reader that poems were written by hand. The white background blends in to the double-spread, pen and ink watercolor illustrations that feature the young Cervantes as a participant in day-to-day activities, or a witness to important events of his early lifetime.
In "If Only," Colón paints a drably-clothed family leaving the city with their meager belongings,

Papá works, cuts hair, trims beards,
pulls teeth, and treats injuries.
If only he did not gamble so much,
losing our money again and again
on card games, jousting,
and horse races.
If only we did not have to move so often.
If only we could live in my world
of brave
daydreams.

Don't mistake this for a sorrowful story, however. It is a story of resilience and soaring imagination. The story of young Miguel Cervantes proves that an optimistic belief in chivalrous righteousness is not a quixotic quest, but with hope and persistence, an achievable goal.
Included in the book are an Author's Note, Illustrator's Note, Historical Note, Biographical Note, and Don Quixote, A Cultural Icon

I cannot recommend this generously-sized, beautiful book enough.

Links to teacher's guide, an excerpt, and an excerpt are available on my blog,[https://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2017/09/miguels-brave-knight-review.html] ( )