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A review by jdintr
Dreams from Many Rivers: A Hispanic History of the United States Told in Poems by Margarita Engle
3.0
In this chronological tour of Latin-American history, Magarita Engle uses poetry to illustrate the lives of real and fictional characters, showing how they would have experienced notable events--and even introducing readers to events (like the pueblo uprising in New Mexico or the struggle for Puerto Rican independence) that aren't in most middle-grade history books.
My critique of the book is that too many of the voices sounded similar to me. I really liked the historic detail and the interesting characters, but the voices seemed to blend together. More dramatic contrasts in structure and voice would have been nice.
Still, this is a valuable book, and I would consider it a good teaching tool. I could see this book used in grades 4-6 as a springboard to research or learning about one or more of the characters in the book. Each poem provides just enough historic detail to get a student started learning on their own, and exploring our country's fascinating Latin heritage.
My critique of the book is that too many of the voices sounded similar to me. I really liked the historic detail and the interesting characters, but the voices seemed to blend together. More dramatic contrasts in structure and voice would have been nice.
Still, this is a valuable book, and I would consider it a good teaching tool. I could see this book used in grades 4-6 as a springboard to research or learning about one or more of the characters in the book. Each poem provides just enough historic detail to get a student started learning on their own, and exploring our country's fascinating Latin heritage.