Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert
Born in Lima, Peru, in 1579, son of an enslaved woman from Africa and a Spanish conqueror, Martín de Porres faced poverty and prejudice for much of his early life. Even after his father claimed him and he was apprenticed to a healer, he was scorned as a mongrel. He wanted to join a monastery but was accepted only as a laborer until his skill and compassion forced people to see beyond their prejudice. Stories spread about his healing abilities and his kind heart. He was in demand among Spanish royals, but they waited while he tended to the Indians and poor in the barrios. Gary D. Schmidt’s lyrical description of the life of the man who would become the first Black saint in the Americas is set against David Diaz’s lush mixed-media illustrations that capture moments of great tenderness and compassion that define this account of de Porres’s life. ©2012 Cooperative Children's Book Center
Illustrated by David Diaz
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 5-8
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Formats:
Biography, Autobiography and Memoir
Picture book
Subjects:
16th Century
17th Century
African Peoples
Biography
Christian People
Economic Hardship and Poverty
Empathy and Compassion
Faith, Spirituality and Religion
Hope and Healing
Peruvians and Peruvian Americans
Racism
Diversity subjects:
Black/African
Indigenous
Latine
Christian
Publishers:
Clarion, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publish Year: 2012
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9780547612188
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 920 de Porres