Martin De Porres: The Rose in the Desert (Pura Belpre Award Winner - Illustration)

I was extremely disappointed in this story about St. Martin de Porres - so much so, in fact, that it's already in my donate pile. In my opinion it takes the life of a truly holy saint, whom I read about as a child and was so moved by, removes the deep, prayerful relationship he had with Our Lord and turns his life into a sort of neat legend-like story. There's no mention of his relationship with God at all. Even heaven is referred to in an abstract way as if it's just a nice-sounding sort of "other place" instead of the eternal union with Christ that all saints long for with a thirst unquenchable by anything on earth. St Martin is painted here as just this really great guy who, simply in virtue of being kind is able to perform miracles, like bi-location and healings (!!!), which the author refers to as just "wonderful stories" - no reference to God. The author also says that Martin was not allowed to become a priest when actually, in his great humility, St Martin did not consider himself worthy to become a priest, or even a brother, and ASKED to be taken on as a servant later taking vows at the request of the Prior. This root virtue of St Martin's holiness - humility - the author glosses over as imposed on St Martin, rather than chosen in love! Every saint desires God's will above all things and wishes to unite him/herself entirely with Jesus. St Martin often prayed for entire nights, even as a child! His life is truly extraordinary and inspires deeper devotion to Our Lord but this book puts everything on a purely natural level and sells him completely short.

This was a very nice book. Beautiful pictures, and a great story. Be aware that there is a lot of words per page, so it is a book to read to children who are a little older, or for older children who are good readers.

Loved this book. The art was unique and refreshing and the story managed to be a story (not just a biographical sketch like so many other picture books do with real life figures). The reviewer who thought the art was weird? Ignore.

The illustrations by David Diaz are beautiful. They match the inspirational story. Color and perspective are excellent. The child looks saintly and in bliss.

Great book on St. Martin de Porres for children and great info for Adults.

This is a beautifully illustrated book by the gifted David Diaz . The story is uplifting and will bring joy tomyour heart !

We are a catholic family and we ADORE this book. It’s a TRUE story, yes, told in a lyrical way, about a great saint.This book doesn’t contain every detail about this great saint’s life, it doesn’t contain (standard? boring?) details about him BUT it contains what made him so unique, and shows parts of his life that capture the imagination and inspire. It's not a list of dry facts saying "he prayed for 8.5 hours a day" but discloses that people claimed they saw angels lighting his path at night. It's artistic, it strikes at the heart and the spirit, not the intellect.A lot of people do not like the persecution that Saint Martin faces for being mixed race, and they don’t like that members of the clergy were involved in that persecution (AS WELL AS everyone else in that society). I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but IT’S TRUE. And people treated him horribly because his mother was black and his father was white, but Martin met their hatred with humility and kindness and converted souls doing so. THAT IS THE POINT. In the meantime, he healed many, took care of plants and animals, and took other lowly jobs. IN THE END Martin showed people that racism was ridiculous and the clergy allowed him into their fold despite the actual (racist) laws at that time (so, my point is, the clergy repented of their mistakes, as did many others, which is GOOD).If you DO NOT LIKE that, you DO NOT want a story about Saint Martin. If you uncomfortable with addressing that racism WAS a HUGE part of Martin de Porres’s life and EVERYONE was against him then....DO NOT get this book, and then complain. But, if you want to show your children in a sweet, beautiful, but REAL way that the nastiness of sin CAN be overcome with patience and kindness, this book is for you. This book is SO VERY relevant to today's issues, and addresses them in a timeless, CHRISTIAN way.Also, last but NOT least the illustrations of this book are simply extraordinary. Seriously. It’s worth buying just to look at the pictures even if you never read the words. It's gorgeous, every page is breathtaking.

I love this book so much. St. Martin is my patron saint, so he is very important to me, and I love how beautifully this book shares his story through both its peaceful illustrations and inspiring words. I bought this to read on his feast day and to make it easier to share with friends and family what St. Martin means to me.