Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert, Hardcover

Pura Belpre Award

2013 Pura Belpre Award for Illustration

As the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a former slave, Martin de Porres was born into extreme poverty. Even so, his mother begged the church fathers to allow him into the priesthood. Instead, Martin was accepted as a servant boy. But soon, the young man was performing miracles. Rumors began to fly around the city of a strange mulatto boy with healing hands, who gave first to the people of the barrios. Martin continued to serve in the church, until he was finally received by the Dominican Order, no longer called the worthless son of a slave, but rather a saint and the rose in the desert.

About the Author:

Gary D. Schmidt is the best-selling author of Okay for Now, the Newbery Honor and Printz Honor book Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, and the Newbery Honor book The Wednesday Wars. Mr. Schmidt lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. David Diaz has illustrated numerous award-winning books for children, including Smoky Night by Eve Bunting, for which he was awarded the Caldecott Medal and Diego: Bigger Than Life by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, a Pura Belpr Honor Award winner. Mr. Diaz lives in Carlsbad, California.