The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom

by Margarita Engle (Henry Holt)

Surrender_Tree_Belpre.jpg

About

91´«Ã½

Engle’s hauntingly beautiful free verse prose breathes life into this finely crafted story that illuminates Cuba’s fight for independence from Spain in the 1800’s. Told from the perspective of four distinct voices, Engle intricately weaves a harrowing, heart-wrenching story of enslavement, survival, determination and heroism.

Engle’s prose breathes life into each character, and her rich use of language catapults the reader into the jungles of Cuba. "The engaging story keeps the reader racing through the pages of history,” said Belpré Committee Chair Claudette McLinn.

Awards Won

Title Year
Belpré Medal image Pura Belpré Award

91´«Ã½

The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.
2009 - Winner(s)