Lion Island: Cuba's Warrior of Words

In a haunting yet hopeful novel in verse, award-winning author Margarita Engle tells the story of Antonio Chuffat, a young man of African, Chinese, and Cuban descent who became a champion of civil rights.

Asia, Africa, Europe--Antonio Chuffat's ancestors clashed and blended on the beautiful island of Cuba. Yet for most Cubans in the nineteenth century, life is anything but beautiful. The country is fighting for freedom from Spain. Enslaved Africans and nearly-enslaved Chinese indentured servants are forced to work long, backbreaking hours in the fields.

So Antonio feels lucky to have found a good job as a messenger, where his richly blended cultural background is an asset. Through his work he meets Wing, a young Chinese fruit seller who barely escaped the anti-Asian riots in San Francisco, and his sister Fan, a talented singer. With injustice all around them, the three friends are determined that violence will not be the only way to gain liberty.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 08/30/2016
ISBN: 9781481461122
Pages: 176
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.50w x 0.80d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2016
School Library Journal 06/01/2016 pg. 92
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2016 pg. 131
Booklist 07/01/2016 pg. 70
Publishers Weekly 08/08/2016
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 09/01/2016
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2017 - Superior,Well Above Average
School Library Journal 02/01/2017 pg. 49

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 184607 / Lion Island: Cuba's Warrior of Words
Reading Level: 6.8 / Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus / Point Value: 2