Hello readers! Here in these last few days of Women’s History Month, we wanted to squeeze in one more biographical children’s book that highlights inspirational Latinas. This week I am delighted to present A Library for Juana: The World of Sor Juana Inés, written by Pat Mora and illustrated by Beatriz Vidal, a book that tells the story of an important and prolific literary figure, self-taught poet, scholar and nun, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.
Here is a description from Goodreads:
Juana Inés was just a little girl in a village in Mexico when she decided that the thing she wanted most in the world was her very own collection of books, just like in her grandfather’s library. When she found out that she could learn to read in school, she begged to go. And when she later discovered that only boys could attend university, she dressed like a boy to show her determination to attend. Word of her great intelligence soon spread, and eventually, Juana Inés was considered one of the best scholars in the Americas–something unheard of for a woman in the 17th century. Today, this important poet is revered throughout the world and her verse is memorized by schoolchildren all over Mexico.
We follow Jua
na’s life and discover that she was a curious child, always asking questions and wondering what was written in the books of her grandfather. She loved letters and rhyming. She started school at an early age, eager to learn. Once she found out that women could not attend university, she dressed as a boy to practice for when she would go to their library.
To close out our posts on National Poetry Month, I wanted to follow up last week’s post (which gave resources for younger readers–
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