Description
Book SynopsisA poetic, beautifully illustrated picture book inspired by Ode to the Onion by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904–1973). Pablo has a lunch date with his friend Matilde, who shows the moody poet her garden. Where Pablo sees conflict and sadness, Matilde sees love and hope. The story is less a biography of Neruda and his muse, Matilde Urrutia (1912–1985), and more a simple ode to a vegetable that is humble and luminous, dark and light, gloomy and glad, full of grief and full of joy—just like life.A Junior Library Guild Selection
Trade ReviewOnionskin endpapers are a nice touch to an introduction to the Chilean poet who paid tribute to familiar objects. * Booklist *
Sala's exuberant illustrations are playful and colorful . . . a sweet story about the creative process. * Kirkus Reviews *
Children who love words should warm to Alexandria Giardino's ODE TO AN ONION: Pablo Neruda & His Muse . . . In Felicita Sala’s vivacious and beautifully detailed drawings, done in colored pencil, Mathilde’s smile and Pablo’s glum expression give a tender humor to this real-life relationship. * New York Times *
A handsome book about appreciation. * San Francisco Chronicle *
Gloomy versus hopeful. Therein lies the timeless tension between Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda and his wife-to-be in this lovingly envisioned and supremely handsome book. * San Francisco Chronicle *
This one is a treat for the eyes and ears. -- Maria Russo, New York Times Children's Book Editor
