Martin De Porres: The Rose In The Desert (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
KIRKUS REVIEWWith images of surpassing beauty and power and a text both simple and lyrical, Diaz and Schmidt tell the life of the first black saint of the Americas.Martín’s mother was African, his father a Spanish nobleman. His father took his children from Lima, Peru, where they lived in desperate poverty, to Ecuador, where he gave them his name. Back in Lima, Martín was apprenticed to a healer, and at 15 he asked admittance to the monastery. Because of his mixed blood he could not be a priest, but he offered himself as a servant. His gifts as a healer became known throughout the city, and Spanish nobles waited for his healing touch while he first tended the poorest and most desperate, both human and animal. Schmidt recounts the story using repeated motifs: the dark eyes of the boy; the frowns of the Spaniards; the name-calling. Diaz achieves an extraordinary luminosity in his illustrations. The tenderness with which Martín treats his charges, the vivid expressions of those who scorn him and those who rely on him, and the balance of shape and stunning color make each page shine. A note offers further details, but, alas, there is no bibliography.A visual—and, it must be said, spiritual—delight. (Picture book/biography. 5-9)My ReviewThe author was able to show a glimpse of what Martin de Porres went though his whole life while being a mixed race child. Martin was even told that he was "not of pure blood" and that is why he could never be a priest. He went on ignoring what they said about him, healing many people and continuing to help many others by putting them ahead of himself. After many times of healing other animals included, he became Saint Martin de Porres after he was canonized in 1962. Grade levels: K- 3rd grade (lower levels)Awards/Honors: 2013 Pura Belpre Award for Illustration The story of St.Martin de Porres (Fray Escoba as some people call him), the illegitimate child of a Spanish nobleman and an African former slave, who was born(1579) in Lima,Peru and grew up to be one of the most love and famous saint in the world. He was beatified in 1837 and canonized in May 1962- the first black saint in the Americas- when Pope John XXIII named him the patron saint of universal brotherhood. Beautifully illustrated by David Diaz, and written by Gary D. Schmidt, it delivers an endearing story of tribulation and triumph, with a message of peace and equality.
What do You think about Martin De Porres: The Rose In The Desert (2012)?
Worthy of award. good early biography and wonderful for children who need to read about a saint.
—briannam9
A beautifully written and illustrated biography of the first black saint in the Americas.
—aide
Not really up on any saints. Nice rendering of the story.
—lollipop123
A beautiful collaboration between Schmidt and Diaz.
—Camba
2013 Pura Belpré Medal Winner (for illustration)
—gummy
