This was another wonderful read by Margarita Engle. Her poetry leaves you breathless. That you can see in such detail what is being conveyed in so few words is a wonder to me. Another winner.

A novel in verse about the friendship between Cuban-born and recent immigrant eleven-year-old Oriol and the poet Gabriela Mistral. Oriol loves helping her parents at their veterinary clinic but struggles to belong in California in the late 1940s. Then she meets Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American winner of a Nobel Prize in Literature, and she begins to open up through her poetry. Soon she will need all of her strength and courage to rescue a baby elephant in need.

This book started slowly, with Oriol reeling from the loss of her grandmother and her home in Cuba. As Oriol makes new friends with Mistral and the elephants the tempo picks up until you cannot put it down. While I ended up loving the book it was difficult to get into and I think it would be a challenging read for the intended audience of middle grade. I would recommend to Middle School or as a read-aloud.

This is a lovely and quiet read about standing up for what you think is right. It's a nice touch that a real poet, Gabriela Mistral, is featured as a character in a book written in verse. Perhaps it will inspire readers to find her poetry? And I did wonder if Mistral was an inspiration to Engle as a child?

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of Singing with Elephants by Margarita Engle.
A beautiful story written in verse. The story of a girl trying to find her voice and reunite a mother elephant with its baby. A great mix of Spanish culture and immigration. A story that needs to be shared.

Starting out sad and lonely in tone, like the main character eleven-year old Oriol, the tone opens up and transforms thanks to Oriol’s friendship with a poet, who shows her how words in the form of poetry can change one’s life. And the lives of others.

Margarita Engle’s choice to tell her fictional story of the time real-life poet Gabriela Mistral spent in Santa Barbara in poem-form works well. We really get a feel for Oriol’s loneliness without her Abuelita, and how her life changes so much after meeting both the poet and the elephant. I love these creatures, so was thrilled when the author included a small family of them in this well told, heartwarming story.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Group for Young Readers for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this novel in verse.

I wanted to like this one, but I didn't find it as engaging as I had hoped.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for the review copy of Singing with Elephants by Margarita Engle. I absolutely fell in love with this novel in verse from the first page. I love the main character Oriol and her fight to do what is right for the elephants on the nature reserve her parents run. I love the exploration of the power of the written word, and advocating for justice. This is a powerful story full of beautiful writing and a strong message. I talked with my students about this read nonstop, and have many interested readers "even though it is poetry..."

This book is perfect for today's youth who are struggling to find their voice or make their voices heard. Get this book in their hands!

Thank you Viking Books for Young Readers for sharing an early copy with me to review. Margarita's words are so beautiful and I will always read her stories. There is a beauty in the flow and rhythm, but also in her world that she builds. I really enjoyed experiencing the birth of a baby elephant in this story and it broke my heart learning about their music and their connections they have to each other and how we (humans) break that connection. A fantastic read!

Singing with Elephants is a beautiful novel in verse featuring 11-year-old Orial. Orial is missing her homeland of Cuba and her recently passed Abuelita. She finds comfort working with the animals that her parents care for at a veterinary clinic. Orial struggles with expressing herself in English and Spanish until she encounters a neighbor who happens to be famous poet Gabriela Mistral. Her encounters with the poet encourage Orial and she finds her voice through poetry. She uses that voice to campaign when a baby elephant is cruelly separated from its mother and twin. The vibrant imagery in the book, especially when describing interactions with animals, stands out as does the well-developed and authentic intergenerational relationship between Orial and her poet/mentor Gabriela. Readers will cheer for Orial as she finds her voice and uses it to help the animals that she loves.

When a novel in verse is written well it can transport you. Each word or phrase is carefully chosen. The prose is smooth, with room to breathe. And it’s in those pauses that the text truly transforms. That is what Margarita Engle does in Singing with Elephants.

At the center of the story is Oriol whose English isn’t perfect and neither is she. When Oriol meets Gabriela Mistral, she learns to think in new ways and to embrace her past while looking to the future. The duo’s interactions are a treat, and Mistral’s lessons can be applied in readers’ own lives.

My favorite moments, however, come when Oriol is with her beloved elephants. She sees them for the graceful, intelligent animals they are, and that love comes dancing off the pages.

Singing with Elephants is one of those books that you feel better for having read it. Though a quick read, there are layers upon layers, making a big impact. It would be a great summer read or as part of curriculum during the school year. I highly recommend it.

I really want to love this book, with the poetry, elephants, and the story of a young writer finding their voice. For me, the poetry felt forced to the story, rather than capturing the moments, the feelings, the senses in the way a great novel in verse does.

Engle’s novel in verse “Singing with Elephants” took an unexpected turn for me and I finished it in one sitting. I expected to enjoy the book, having read many of Engle’s other MG books but “heartwarming” was more on my radar. There was more intensity and drama than I anticipated which definitely kept me reading. I found this verse novel to be one of the easier stories to think about marketing to my MS students.

So many beautiful truths shared via lyrical poetic phrasing that I couldn't help, but highlight, highlight, highlight as I read. Written with a mix of Spanish and English, and talking about the language of laughter and the language of animals, Singing with Animals honors the importance of communication and community, as well as the written, spoken and sung word (and tune). It honors cross-generational relationships and mentoring opportunities. It also advocates for peace at an individual level and a more worldly/global level. It also highlights that each of us has many facets, desires, dreams and skillsets. Humans are not meant to be just one thing. This is clear as the main character tries to share her writing, her talents with animals, her veterinary experiences and her longing for connection via friendship and family. There is such beauty and inspiration in this book with room for rich discussion amongst readers.

Singing with Elephants first captured my attention with its beautiful cover. Fans of The One and Only Ivan will enjoy this book.
This novel in verse is a lyrical treasure- written in both English and Spanish.