# Lion Island: Cuba's Warrior of Words - Hardcover

by **Margarita Engle** (Author)

**In a haunting yet hopeful novel in verse, award-winning author Margarita Engle tells the story of Antonio Chuffat, a young man of African, Chinese, and Cuban descent who became a champion of civil rights.**

Asia, Africa, Europe--Antonio Chuffat's ancestors clashed and blended on the beautiful island of Cuba. Yet for most Cubans in the nineteenth century, life is anything but beautiful. The country is fighting for freedom from Spain. Enslaved Africans and nearly-enslaved Chinese indentured servants are forced to work long, backbreaking hours in the fields.

So Antonio feels lucky to have found a good job as a messenger, where his richly blended cultural background is an asset. Through his work he meets Wing, a young Chinese fruit seller who barely escaped the anti-Asian riots in San Francisco, and his sister Fan, a talented singer. With injustice all around them, the three friends are determined that violence will not be the only way to gain liberty.

### Author Biography

Margarita Engle is the Cuban American author of many books including the verse novels _Rima's Rebellion_; _Your Heart, My Sky_; _With a Star in My Hand_; _The Surrender Tree_, a Newbery Honor winner; and _The Lightning Dreamer_. Her verse memoirs include _Soaring Earth_ and _Enchanted Air_, which received the Pura Belpré Award, a Walter Dean Myers Award Honor, and was a finalist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, among others. Her picture books include _Drum Dream Girl_, _Dancing Hands_, and _The Flying Girl_. Visit her at MargaritaEngle.com.

**Number of Pages:** 176

**Dimensions:** 0.8 x 8.3 x 5.5 IN

**Publication Date:** August 30, 2016

**Accelerated Reader:**

**Quiz Name:** Lion Island: Cuba's Warrior of Words

**Interest Level:** Upper Middle Grades, 6 and up

**Reading Level:** 6.8

**Point Value:** 2

## Details

- **Price:** 16.99 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 16.99 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Lion Island: Cuba's Warrior of Words - Hardcover

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