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The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba

The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba

Current price: $11.99
Publication Date: March 7th, 2017
Publisher:
Square Fish
ISBN:
9781250110961
Pages:
176

Why does a woman born to wealth and privilege give it up to fight for women's rights? Readers will find part of the answer in Margarita Engle's new novel, The Firefly Letters. Written in poetry, the experiences of Fredrika Bremer, Cecilia the slave, and Elena the plantation owner's daughter transport the reader to the early days of the Suffragette's movement in the 1850s.

Laura DeLaney, The Rediscovered Bookshop, Boise, ID
Spring 2010 Kids' Next List

Description

In this quietly powerful novel in verse, which is young adult historical fiction based on a true story, award-winning poet Margarita Engle paints a portrait of early women’s rights pioneer Fredrika Bremer and the journey to Cuba that transformed her life.

When Fredrika Bremer asked the Swedish Consulate to find her a quiet home in the Cuban countryside, she expected a rustic thatched hut, not this luxurious mansion in Matanzas, where Elena, the daughter of the house, can barely step foot outside.

The freedom to roam is something that women and girls in Cuba do not have. Yet when Fredrika sets off to learn about the people of this magical island, she is accompanied by Cecilia, a young slave who longs for her lost home in Africa. Soon Elena sneaks out of the house to join them. As the three women explore the lush countryside, they form a bond that breaks the barriers of language and culture.

The Firefly Letters is...

A Pura Belpré Honor Book
An American Library Association Notable Children's Book
A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year

About the Author

Margarita Engle is the Cuban-American author of many verse novels, memoirs, and picture books, including The Surrender Tree, All the Way to Havana, Bravo!, Drum Dream Girl, and Dancing Hands. Awards include a Newbery Honor, Pura Belpré Medals, Golden Kite Award, Walter Honor, Jane Addams Award, PEN U.S.A., and NSK Neustadt Prize, among others. Margarita served as the national 2017-2019 Young People’s Poet Laureate. Recent young adult verse novels include Wings in the Wild and Wild Dreamers. Recent picture books include Water Day and The Sculptors of Light.

Margarita was born in Los Angeles, but developed a deep attachment to her mother’s homeland during childhood summers with relatives on the island. She studied agronomy and botany along with creative writing, and now lives in central California.

www.margaritaengle.com
Facebook: Margarita Engle
Twitter: @margaritapoet
Instagram: @engle.margarita

Praise for The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba

A Pura Belpré Honor Book
An American Library Association Notable Children's Book
A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year

“Like the firefly light, Engle's poetry is a gossamer thread of subtle beauty weaving together three memorable characters who together find hope and courage. Another fine volume by a master of the novel in verse.” -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“This slim, elegant volume opens the door to discussions of slavery, women's rights, and the economic disparity between rich and poor.” -Publishers Weekly

“Through this moving combination of historical viewpoints, Engle creates dramatic tension among the characters, especially in the story of Elena, who makes a surprising sacrifice.” -Booklist

“This engaging title documents 50-year-old Swedish suffragette and novelist Fredrika Bremer's three-month travels around Cuba in 1851. . . . The easily digestible, poetic narrative makes this a perfect choice for reluctant readers, students of the women's movement, those interested in Cuba, and teens with biography assignments.” —School Library Journal

“The author has a gift for imbuing seemingly effortless text with powerful emotions. . . .This uncommon story will resonate.” —The Bulletin

The imagistic, multiple first-person narrative works handily in revealing Bremer, an alert and intelligent woman in rebellion against her background of privilege.” —The Horn Book