“Every night she likes to watch how the lights she sees / from her window go out. / Because it’s like watching sunsets, / lightning bugs, / tiny lighthouses.” (“Susana”) “His mother called him 'little bird.’ / And he likes the way that sounds. / Little bird.” (“Raúl”) An opening note provides the devastating context for this collection: During the 17 years of the Pinochet regime in Chile between 1973 and 1990, thousands were killed. “Among them were thirty-four children under the age of fourteen.” The 34 poems are memorials to each of them. The introduction notes that in these poems the children “play, dream, and listen to the voices of their mothers. Because that is what we think children should do.” A collection dedicated to these 34 children as well as children today who suffer under political violence is beautifully translated, and each poem is accompanied by a delicate, graceful illustration that reflects the joy of each life, which is also what these children deserve to be remembered for. Each child’s full name and age is provided at volume’s end. (Age 9 and older)

A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A New York Public Library (NYPL) Best Book for Kids
A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of the Year
Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Most Notable Book

"A book to be read and remembered: a tribute to children whose lives were lost to forces not of their own creation."
-- Kirkus Reviews (STARRED review)

Moving poetry pays homage to thirty-four children lost during Augusto Pinochet's violent dictatorial rule of Chile.

On September 11, 1973, a military coup plunged Chile into seventeen long years of dictatorial rule. Only the return of democracy could reveal the full horrors of Augusto Pinochet's regime: 3,197 people dead or disappeared--including thirty-four children under the age of fourteen.

This poetry collection is a stirring memorial to those victims and the cost of extremism. Thirty-four poems--one for each child lost--consider the diverse hopes of these fragile young lives -- from Alicia to Jaime, Héctor to Paola, Soledad to Rafael, they were brave and creative, thoughtful and strong. In these pages, some children watch for the changing seasons. Some listen for new sounds on rainy afternoons. And some can't wait for their next birthday.

Featuring gentle, emotive poems and soft, pastel-toned illustrations, Niños is an unforgettable tribute to the children of Pinochet's Chile and all those threatened by political violence across the world.

Part of Eerdmans' Stories from Latin America series. Translated from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel.

Other awards

Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Choices
Paterson Prize for Books for Young People Co-Winner (Grades 7-12)
Américas Award Honorable Mention