Margarita Engle: Hi, this is Margarita Engle, and I am the author of The Wild Book. I am going to tell you why I wrote this book and then I'll read an excerpt. The Wild Book is a novel and poems inspired by stories my grandmother told me about her childhood. She grew up on a farm in Cuba during the wild times that followed US occupation of the island after the Spanish American war. I wrote The Wild Book because I wanted to imagine what my grandmother felt like a child. She grew up with the fear of being kidnapped by bandits, and she also suffered the inner turmoil of dyslexia, at that time known as word blindness. Doctors actually believed that certain children could not see written words. My grandmother eventually learned to read and write beautifully, but she lived to nearly 104 believing that she was partially blind. I'd like to read two short poems about a time when my grandmother felt smart and confident. I wrote these poems as I was thinking about the different ways children learn.

Daily Music

During pairless times we rarely feast, but my brother still performed rope tricks that looked like a ballet of the leaping horse and looping rope. And my sisters stir a coconut pudding, that sounds like a rumba of the kettle and the spoon. I compete with Jose to see who can sing the best liar's song. He invents one about cows that give sweet, delicious whip cream instead of plain milk. I sing about an earthworm that wears a fancy hat, even though he does not have a head. After a few funny songs, any starlit evening can turn into a lively family dance.

Dance Smart

Everyone says I am a fine dancer. Suddenly I feel drum beat, guitar ripple, maraca rattle, dance smart. Jose is a naturally smart teacher. And Dario has a way with plants in the garden. And baby Ruben or little Etelvina might grow up to be smart in the handy way of artists, carving statues or painting murals. I am dance smart, when my feet and hands forget to worry about the rhythms that I know how to tap and clap out loud.