Ode to an Onion: Pablo Neruda & His Muse

I bought this for my 9-year-old daughter for national poetry month. I wasn’t sure if she would be interested in a picture book since she reads chapter books and poetry without pictures. It turned out to be a new favorite. The illustrations and endpapers are beautiful, the text is precise and rhythmic, and the story of how friends and loved ones can uplift each other is resonant, but not saccharine. We followed it up by reading Neruda’s “Ode to My Socks” from an anthology. My daughter has read “Ode to an Onion” so many times now that when I’m cutting onions and tearing up in the kitchen, she asks me if I need Matilde. I wink and tell her we all need a Matilde. Beautiful book that kids and adults can both enjoy.

This picture book is fun on so many levels. Younger readers can enjoy the simple, surface story of one friend helping another to see the beauty in an everyday object. More experienced readers will appreciate the beautifully imagined backstory of Pablo Neruda's poem about an onion. The illustrations are wonderfully detailed and full of life, and the whole book is put together beautifully. I don't want to be a spoiler so let's just say there's some fun book-craft in the paper choices. An unexpected story our whole family enjoyed.

I love Pablo Neruda's poetry and this is a great book to introduce him and his creative writing process to kids. I love that the full poem is included in the end. We read it with my daughter while peeling an onion :)

This book has a whimsical quality, while acknowledging what it feels like to be creatively stuck. I love the message of looking for beauty in even the humblest of things. Beautifully illustrated as well.

This book is just lovely. The story is sweet and simple. It's a wonderful way to introduce children to Neruda's poetry. Giardino shows her love for her subject in her gentle prose. Salas' illustrations are perfect; just beautiful to look at and lose yourself in. It's not just a book for children; it's also a book that belongs in the hands of any one who loves Neruda's poetry.

I love this book. It sounds like a poem when you read it and the pictures are detailed and gorgeous. Included is Pablo Neruda's actual poem about an onion in English and in Spanish. I especially love that the characters acknowledge the sadness in the world but also recognize the need for happiness that coexists with trial. I love onions even more now!

This is a beautiful, simply marvelous story of Pablo Neruda.

This wonderful book is not only a tribute to the genius of Pablo Neruda, but to the artistry of the author and illustrator; I will give this book as a Christmas gift to each of my eleven children and to each of my 28 grandchildren; as I can think of nothing better to share with those I love.