CÉSAR

Aimed at slightly older children than Kathleen Krull’s Harvesting Hope (2003), this powerful biography in poems relates incidents in the life of César Chávez with insight and a sense of wonder. “Who could tell / that he with a soft pan dulce voice, / hair the color of mesquite, / and downcast, Aztec eyes, / would have the courage to speak up / for the campesinos.” At the time of his death, César did not own a car and had never owned a house. The final words of the last poem are Chávez’s own, and a fitting tribute: “True wealth is not measured in money or status or power. It is measured in the legacy we leave behind for those we love and those we inspire.” The numerous Spanish phrases will make reading aloud a challenge for non-Spanish speakers, but learning to do so is worth the effort. Backmatter includes notes, a chronology, a list of sources, a prose narrative, a selection from Chávez’s own words, and an extensive glossary. Diaz’s softly beautiful and illuminating illustrations add much to this already rich celebration of César’s life and legacy. (Poetry/biography. 9-12)