Starred Review in February 2006 School Library Journal

"K-Gr 2 - This lyrical homage to the Chilean Nobel Prize winner is a joy to read. Written in the first person, the simple text follows the life of the poet from her earliest days (in which, as a girl, she chooses her own name and teaches herself to read) to her internationally renowned career in literature. Brown and the unnamed translator have created a poignantly poetic text that reads equally well in English and in Spanish. It depicts, above all else, the poet's lifelong love affair with words and stories. Parra's naive-style illustrations, which appear to be painted on wood, go well beyond complementing the text. They offer a view into a softly colored world of people, places, and creatures, real or imagined, that were described in Mistral's work. An exquisite addition for most collections".

Gr 1-5 "After winning the Américas Award for her picture book biography of the queen of salsa, My Name is Celia/Me llamo Celia, Brown presents a beautiful bilingual biography of Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral. In 1945, Mistral became the first Latin American woman to receive the Nobel Prize for literature. This book honors the poet by describing her life as a teacher and writer in lovely imagery and poetic prose. Readers will find out about Mistral's coming of age and about her travels throughout the world sharing her stories and poems. Brown writes in first person and uses an informal tone so that readers get the impression that Mistral is speaking directly to them. Both the English and Spanish texts are excellent and easily understood. Parra's illustrations are eye-catching, especially the one that depicts Mistral's visit to Mexico. The book ends with a short biography. Recommended for public and elementary school libraries."