Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck

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Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck

3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 · rating details · 234 ratings · 83 reviews

Quebrado has been traded from pirate ship to ship in the Caribbean Sea for as long as he can remember. The sailors he toils under call him el quebrado—half islander, half outsider, a broken one. Now the pirate captain Bernardino de Talavera uses Quebrado as a translator to help navigate the worlds and words between his mother’s Taíno Indian language and his father’s Spanis...more

Hardcover, 160 pages

Published March 15th 2011 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

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DCL Mock Newbery 2012

27th out of 41 books — 27 voters

Newbery 2012

99th out of 136 books — 546 voters

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Jul 10, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I read this book the very same day I received it in the mail. The cover is beautiful, but the content is even more beautiful. This book is destined to become a classic. This book should be shared over and over, and passed from generation to generation.

I think that I will go read it again!

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Sep 27, 2011 Ellie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels-in-verse, poetry, historical, boys, girls, cuba, pirates

Mock Newbery Book. Possibly a strong contender? I liked The Surrender Tree and this book definitely reminded me of it. Great read-alike to any other novel in verse (after they read Out of the Dust, some kids can't get enough of novels in verse and there aren't TONS of options). Interesting topic, engagingly told. Quick read, which is nice for kids who absolutely do not like to read. The only thing is that it's a little confusing, so while it is short and quick, it isn't necessarily good for some...more

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Jul 17, 2011 Kimberly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 52-books-in-52-weeks-2011

A gorgeously written account of the first Carribean pirate shipwreck in the 1500s. Our hero, Quebrado, is a slave of Taino Indian and Spanish ancestry. He belongs to no one, a child of two worlds, of two languages. He is a slave on the famous Vernardino de Talavera's pirate ship, the first of its kind in the Caribbean Sea, and a very important hostage is on board with them, Alonso de Ojeda.

The story is based on actual events, though Quebrado himself is fictional.
After the shipwreck, Quedbrado i...more

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Feb 19, 2012 Josiah rated it 2 of 5 stars

"I have spent all my years
accepting sad truths."

—Quebrado, Hurricane Dancers, P. 8

Glowing with the soft lyrical electricity of all her other novels in verse, Hurricane Dancers is gracefully poetic without sacrificing the clarity of the narrative, and filled with gems of wisdom and personal understanding that sparkle like hidden diamond shards half buried beneath the sandy beach. At the same time, this book is a rarity as a historical fiction novel for young-adults that goes all the way back...more

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Feb 15, 2011 Alanna (The Flashlight Reader) rated it 3 of 5 stars

In order to understand the context of the book, you must understand the historical setting. This story is a fictionalized account of the first Caribbean Pirate shipwreck on Cuba in the 1500s. Most of the characters are actual people from history. The only fictional character is Quebrado.

In the beginning of the novel, we meet Quebrado, a slave aboard Bernardino de Talavera’s ship—the first pirate ship of the Caribbean. At this point, Bernardino has captured Alonso de Ojeda and is holding him hos...more In order to understand the context of the book, you must understand the historical setting. This story is a fictionalized account of the first Caribbean Pirate shipwreck on Cuba in the 1500s. Most of the characters are actual people from history. The only fictional character is Quebrado.

In the beginning of the novel, we meet Quebrado, a slave aboard Bernardino de Talavera’s ship—the first pirate ship of the Caribbean. At this point, Bernardino has captured Alonso de Ojeda and is holding him hostage on the ship as well. Then the hurricane hits. The entire ship is destroyed, and all the surviving crew members have to fight to find shelter on a mysterious island (Cuba).

Quebrado is unique because he can speak two languages, one of which is the language of the “naturals” on the island. He is instantly welcomed by the tribe. Eventually Bernardino and Ojeda find Quebrado living among the tribe. The remainder of the story focuses on Quebrado’s attempts to find his new identity in the world and forgive his former captors. This is not the only story taking place within the novel, however. Being told simultaneously is the story of Narido and Caucubu, two lovers who are forbidden to be together.

Personally, I was only slightly interested in this novel. I think my lack of knowledge and interest in the historical context that the story was based on added to my half-hearted reading. The prose was well written and did carry a nice plot, and there were beautiful metaphors used throughout the novel. Also, I felt that there was a nice message hidden within the short text. Maybe I’m wrong, but I picked up on a hint of self-acceptance in the book’s final poems. The final words in the novel are “I am whole,” which is a pretty significant, considering Quebrado’s struggles.

My favorite quotes:

(pg. 6) “Sailors call me a boy/of broken dreams, / but I think of myself/ as a place—a strange place/ dreamed by the sea, / belonging nowhere, / half floating island/ and half/ wandering wind.”

(pg. 17) “Shackled to a rotting wall/ in the ship’s stinking hold, / I feel as helpless as a turtle/ flipped on its back, / awaiting the cook’s/ probing knife.”

(pg. 48) “The Woman of Wind/ taught all these creatures/ how to fly./ What will the hurricane/ teach me?”

(Pg. 60) “The storm-boy is young./ He has not yet learned/ that hope is stronger/ than fear.”

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Jun 28, 2012 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-lit

Audience: Intermediate grades, those who enjoy books written that integrate accurate parts of history, the lure of a pirate ship (pirates are very popular these days) may lure the children to read it
Appeal: The book is written in verse from 5 different perspectives. This helps students understand more than one point of view. This book lends itself to many different ways to integrate the theme of the book into all subjects. There are numerous activities you could do relating to each subject, writ...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Rll595ag_thomasjakovlic rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry

Margarita Engle’s Hurricane Dancers is historical accounting of real events but told in fictional style. There are only five characters in this story, but our writer gives each one distinctly unique and rich personal voice. Quebrado is the young ship’s slave who is both Taino Indian and of Spanish ancestry. Bernandino de Talavera is the first pirate of the Carribean. Alonso de Ojeda is a conquistador and the pirate’s prisoner, Narido is a young Ciboney Indian fisherman and Caucubu the young dau...more Margarita Engle’s Hurricane Dancers is historical accounting of real events but told in fictional style. There are only five characters in this story, but our writer gives each one distinctly unique and rich personal voice. Quebrado is the young ship’s slave who is both Taino Indian and of Spanish ancestry. Bernandino de Talavera is the first pirate of the Carribean. Alonso de Ojeda is a conquistador and the pirate’s prisoner, Narido is a young Ciboney Indian fisherman and Caucubu the young daughter, and forbidden lover of Narido, of the Chiboney chieftain. The book is told in poetic free verse, but the form’s sparse style does not impede filling out the descriptive details, diminishes the plot’s depth, nor shrink the expansiveness of the storytelling. Instead we the reader are given alternate viewpoints of the same point of time and event through each of the characters personal lens. In many ways, this multiple perspective of each event from ship’s traveling through hurricane storms, the characters landing on the strange and mysterious Chiboney Indian beach, and their manipulations to seek control over each other’s lives gives the narrative more energy, action, and suspense than would be found in a more expansive retelling in a full novel. What Engle’s graceful use of free verse in retelling of the first pirate of the Caribbean does definitively is expand the audience of readers, especially younger readers, who would entertain the idea of reading poetry as a vehicle for storytelling. This is no small feat and a clear gift to any Language Arts educator who is seeking to have students read this style of writing.
The book reads like a series of dreams. Each character has their own aspirations and experiences. Quebrado, Bernandino de Talavera, and Alonso Ojeda are trapped on this pirate ship in uneasy and violent personal and weather conditions. Talavera has captured conquistador Ojeda and stolen his ship. Alonso de Ojeda is shackled to the bowels of the lower deck. Quebrado, our young protagonist, has alos been captured and enslaved. Benandino de Talvera despite all his power over these two is under the mercy of the voracious eater of 16th century ships- the hurricane, and he now needs the help of Ojeda. He unlocks his shackles, and the adventure between the three begins. As we go from wild and tempestuous ocean to survival on the island, Engle introduces us Narido, a young Chiboney Indian fisherman, and his forbidden love Caucubu. We see their attempts to keep their love alive despite the father’s protests. Margarita Engle’s Hurricane Dancers is not only a book about treachery and deception, survival, and love, but she uses her free verse form to wrap these themes into sparse thoughts which gives them an immediacy of thought and action that might be lacking in the less skillful hand of a prose writer. After several redirections, tense confrontations, and escapes, Margarita Engle provides the reader with an ending that genuinely makes one want to read more about Taino & Chiboney Indian life, the Spanish conquistadors, and the strangely alluring world of pirate life.
With its familiar voice and dramatic story given intensity and eloquence in free verse poetry, I could very easily see Margarite Engle’s book being brought to the stage as a successful play. At the very least, in a high school class, this book would be fascinating and exciting reading for either a Language Arts or Social Studies class. Reading about the first pirate of the Caribbean as a concluding assignment after reading a whole unit on Caribbean nations and pirate life would be enriching and fulfilling literary experience for students. Other books to expand students interest in the world of pirates includes Pirates by Cellia Rees, Terror of the Spanish Main (a true account) by Sir Henry Morgan, and the Pirate Primer by George Choundas that explores the vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation by pirates. What could be more fun for a middle school student than speaking like a true pirate!

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Dec 06, 2012 Mary Harris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Citation: Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck, by Margarita Engle. (Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2011). 145p. Poetry.
Genre: Junior Book – Poetry
Summary: This book is a unique twist on poetry. There are individual poems that all make up a story. In the beginning of the book are the characters throughout the book. Each poem is part of the story that creates a whole. It is the story of a boy who is kidnapped on a ship and then the ship sinks and he finds his way to land again an...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Brittany Hastings rated it 4 of 5 stars

Grade level: 8th
Lexile: 1100
Main Character: Quebrado
Setting: Caribbean Sea
POV: 3rd Person
Genre: Poetry

-Summary: Quebrado is a troubled young boy without a family or a home. He is brought upon on pirate ship and forced to be a slave due to the fact that he speaks both Taino and Spanish. While he is being trapped by Caribbean pirates, the ship wrecks and is lost in the sea along with most of the crew. Quebrado is able to make it to shore where he is befriended by the islanders and is accepted for...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Krista the Krazy Kataloguer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-childrens-books, read-novels-in-verse

I enjoyed learning the historical facts about the early history of Cuba that were revealed in this book, but the story itself lacked something. I might have liked it more had the drama of the flight of the lovers Narido and Caucubu been expanded upon, or the thoughts of Bernardino de Talavera and Alonso de Ojeda as they wandered, shipwrecked, on the island (did they repent their evil ways?) been dealt with at greater length. However, I understand the the story was mainly about the boy Quebrado a...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Valerie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, read-in-2011

Just learned that I won this via First Reads - and it's in verse format? I'm really looking forward to this. :)

---

Finished. It's a really quick read, and I enjoyed it.

This follows the story of Quebrado, a slave boy working as a translator for the notorious Caribbean pirate Bernardino de Talavera. Also on board is conquistador Alonso de Ojeda, now a hostage. When a hurricane wrecks the ship, the characters become stranded on the island of Cuba and are forced to interact with the natives. Quebrad...more

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Jul 09, 2012 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: americas, hispanophilia, histories, senior-and-up

This 2012 Pura Belpré Honor Book tells the tale, in spare verse, of the historic crash of Spaniards against the shores of the native peoples of Hispaniola and Cuba in the early 1500s. As the cover handsomely illustrates, there is lush flora, untamed wind and sea, a courageous young boy, and yes, a pirate rushes into the middle of things.

Hurricane Dancers provides a brief glimmer of lived experience from multiple perspectives as a young Ciboney Indian couple, two conquistadors, and a half-Taíno,...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Kellee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, book-in-verse, middle-grade, ya-teen, teach-mentor-texts, amazon-review-done, website-review-done

Reviewed at: http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2011/...

Summary: Quebrado finds himself a slave on a pirate ship after being traded around since his mother died and his father ran away. He doesn't even remember his own name, has just come to answer to el quebrado- half islander, half outsider- since his mother was from Cuba while his father was a sailor. He currently works for Bernardino de Talavera, the first pirate of the Caribbean Sea, who has recently captured Alonso de Ojeda, a brutal conquist...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Jesse rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: verse, glgb2013

After finishing The Wild Book by Margarita Engle I knew I had to read her other works. I love novels written in verse and she is one of the best to do so! Hurrican Dancers is different from most novels in verse that I've read, however, because it is told from multiple points-of-view. My favorite was definitely Quebrado, whose growth from a slave to a person capable of mercy was beautiful. The author obviously did her research on the subject, as well. A book like this could kindle a love for hist...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Tiffany rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-lit

This book could be read by a girl or boy who are in the grade 6 to 10. This book has spanish character names. The book is young boy that is called Quebrado that means half islander and half outsider, a broken. He has traded from ship to ship in the Caribbean Sea from as long as he can remember. But now the pirate captain wants this young boy to boy the translator to help navigate the worlds and words between his mother's and father's languages. Then a hurricane sinks the ship and most of the cre...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book tells a fascinating story about a part of the world that many children are unfamiliar with, despite it's close proximity to the U.S. The story is told through the viewpoints of several of the characters, which provides a deeper look at the events described. While the main character is fictional the other characters are not. The story is a gripping one about slavery and what being free really means. The fact that the story is told in free verse poetry may turn some students off, but if...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, multicultural-titles, kids-books-i-would-recommend

After reading this book, I wondered why is it that

if we break up
the text on a page
it is
suddenly considered
poetry.

Frankly, I just consider it easier to read! :) Ms. Engle's words are lovely, though, so I guess that is why it is "free verse" and not just a wise use of white space. However, I don't think this was the best format for this story. There was too much going on to be addressed in a short free-verse novel, and I didn't think the legend of the two lovers meshed well with the rest of the...more

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May 15, 2011 Samantha rated it 3 of 5 stars

A work of historical fiction told in verse from multiple points of view. Detailing the first Caribbean pirate shipwreck Engle mixes history and real people with her own imagination. Intensely emotional, this is a story about the battle for power and the search for identity. The author includes her own note as well as a historical note providing background on the people and events of the story. She also includes a list of references. This would be an excellent companion to any study of The Tempes...more

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Apr 03, 2012 kari rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, ya

A very quick read so a very quick review. I enjoyed the verse telling of this story; it works very well. I would have liked a bit more detail on Quebrado. He says he has grown from a small boy, but I don't really have any idea if he is now grown or somewhere in between. I guess maybe in verse you can't get that much detail.
I knew absolutely nothing of the history so I found that very interesting and as a jumping off point to actually learn more about this place and its people this is great. To a...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Phoebe rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, poetry

Movingly gorgeous poems in five different voices, beginning with an orphaned boy, Quebrado, who is enslaved and traded from ship to ship before ending up on the pirate vessel of Bernardino de Talavera. His voice is the most powerful and the one we care about, as his fortunes change after the ship wrecks and he finds a place among islanders who share his mother's heritage. Other perspectives include the pirate captain himself, and his captive, the conquistador Ojeda. Satisfyingly, these two don't...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Suzanne Jordan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: prose, grade-4-6, american-indian

Set in the 15th century on the island of Hispanolia, Hurricane Dancers tells the story of the events leading up to, including and following a hurricane-induced shipwrecked pirate ship through the eyes of a slave, the captain of the ship, a prisoner, and several native peoples living on the island. Through fast-paced and melodious prose, we learn how a slave longs for freedom, a captain longs for power, and how two young people long to love each other. Adventure, violence, friendship, hatred, and...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Shannon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

I'm super biased toward books that are written about events I know nothing about (Countdown, Inside Out and Back Again, The Fences Between Us), so I don't know that I can be fair in my review. Especially because I have a soft spot in my heart for pirate-y books (True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle). All the characters in this book fascinated me.

There's so much new information that I'm thinking of using this book for my first narrative input chart, which I think I need to present this fall as a p...more

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May 14, 2013 Katrina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-literature

Margarita Engle’s Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck is a beautifully written novel in verse, similar in many ways to her earlier book The Surrender Tree. Here again, Engle brings to life a lesser known period of Caribbean history through three distinct but intertwined stories: that of Quebrado; Naridó and Caucubú; and Ojeda and Talavera. While many of us are familiar with the history of Christopher Columbus, other stories of the conquest and colonization of the Americas are...more Margarita Engle’s Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck is a beautifully written novel in verse, similar in many ways to her earlier book The Surrender Tree. Here again, Engle brings to life a lesser known period of Caribbean history through three distinct but intertwined stories: that of Quebrado; Naridó and Caucubú; and Ojeda and Talavera. While many of us are familiar with the history of Christopher Columbus, other stories of the conquest and colonization of the Americas are often overlooked. This book offers part of that missing perspective.

Set in the early 16th century, Hurricane Dancers tells the story of Quebrado, a young boy enslaved on a pirate ship after losing his Taíno mother and Spanish father. In learning about Quebrado’s sotry, we also hear the tales o fthose around him. Here we learn about Alonso de Ojeda, a contemporary of Columbus, who sailed with him on his second voyage to the Americas. Ojeda became famous for his brutality, both in his settlement of Hispaniola and his later conquest of South America. Yet, in Engle’s book we find Ojeda the injured captive of Spanish pirate Bernardino de Talavera. We learn that Talavera is an impoverished conquistador. Once awarded a profitable land grant, Talavera literally worked his indigenous slaves to death, resulting in the loss of all his wealth. In order to avoid debtor’s prison, Talavera steals a ship and takes to the seas. And then, on this ship, we are introduced to Quebrado. The sailors name him Quebrado, meaning a broken one, because he is half islander and half outsider. Enslaved and beaten, Quebrado is used by Talavera as a translator because he speaks both Spanish and Taíno. Quebrado eventually gains his freedom when a hurricane sinks the ship and kills most of the crew. After the crash, Quebrado is saved and befriend by Naridó, a Taíno fisherman. Naridó is in love with Caucubú, the daughter of the tribe’s leader who is to be given away in an arranged marriage. Meanwhile, in an interesting twist of fate, Talavera and Ojeda find themselves alive, albeit severely injured, and are forced to depend on each other to survive and find help.

In the prose-poetry that follows, Ojeda and Talavera find themselves among the same villagers who have taken in Quebrado. Banished to an alligator infested swamp, the two Spaniards seem to have the nine lives of a cat, surviving even this. Quebrado is soon banished as well and sent away from his new found home. Ultimately, Quebrado must find the courage to banish the two from the island forever.

Hurricane Dancers is one of those books with limitless possibilities for classroom use, appropriate across grade levels for read aloud, independent reading or novel study. If you’re hesitant to use novel in verse in your classroom, don’t be. I’ll admit I had my doubts before I read Engle’s Surrender Tree. But I, along with the other teachers in our monthly book group, loved it. The novelty of this style will be interesting to students not familiar with it. It’s also a much simpler read. There’s no complicated dialogue to keep track of or dense pages to wade through. Each page is a poem written from one character’s perspective which makes it a great book to be read out loud—especially if you have enough copies for each student to have their own. Then, students can take turns reading the lines of the different characters as if it was a play. The simple style won’t intimidate struggling readers, but the engaging plot and beautiful descriptive imagery will catch the attention of all of your students. Booklist writes in its review, “Engle distills the emotion in each episode with potent rhythms, sounds, and original, unforgettable imagery. Linked together, the poems capture elemental identity questions and the infinite sorrows of slavery and dislocation. . .” It would be a perfect book to teach elements of literary or poetic analysis. Many students can struggle to understand or analyze the symbolism or imagery of a short poem, but within the context of an entire novel, these things can be easier to uncover and understand. The simple but beautiful imagery will paint amazing pictures in the minds and imaginations of young and old readers alike.

But, it’s not just a book for reading or language arts classes. It could be quite powerful in a social studies or history course. Hurricane Dancers could easily be integrated into any study on early exploration and conquest of the Caribbean and South America. An amazing unit could be put together using Engle’s novel along with Michael Dorris’ Morning Girl, and the teacher’s guide Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years published by Rethinking Schools. Quite often our classroom resources focus on the point of view of Columbus or other explorers, but rarely do they give voice to the indigenous groups who inhabited the land or even name those groups. This is not the case with Hurricane Dancers. Engle’s “Author’s Note” at the end provides a wealth of information on the background of the historical figures mentioned in the book. Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years also has a number of great resources written specifically about the Taíno. While Engle’s book doesn’t focus on current events, it could be an excellent resource for those teaching about more contemporary Social Studies issues, like child slavery. We featured another novel in October, The Queen of Water, that, if paired with Hurricane Dancers could provide an excellent means for studying both historical and contemporary issues around child slavery.
If nothing else, it is a moving story of a young boy’s journey to redemption. His final message is one that I believe we hope all our students understand and accept for themselves: “I no longer feel like Quebrado, a broken place. . .I am free of all those shattered ways of seeing myself. I am whole” (p. 133).

We have a free educator’s guide for Hurricane Dancers available on our blog at: http://teachinglatinamericathroughlit...
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Jul 19, 2012 Amanda (Born Bookish) rated it 2 of 5 stars

The book starts out with a brief historical setting and list of main characters. With a historical fiction book I like when the author includes some sort of background on which they drew their ideas from. I also found the cast list to be very helpful since there were five main characters, all with complicated names.

The book was divided into six main sections: Wild Sea, Brave Earth, Hidden, The Sphere Court, The Sky Horse, Far Light, and told from five different perspectives.

Quebrado, a young boy...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: tbl-mock-newbery-2012, verse-novel, historical

This is told in 5 voices. 5. While I appreciated having the names of the speakers listed over each page - so you not only knew who was talking, you could tell when that person would continue speaking for a few pages - 5 seems like a bit much in such a short book. I enjoyed learning about the very first Caribbean pirate, though we didn't get as much of his story as I had hoped. The author's note was very informative and it was cool to find out that most of the voices were real people. Including o...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Madigan McGillicuddy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I recently read Engle's wonderful picture book treatment of one of the earliest female scientists, Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian, and when I saw she'd written a new book, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I was delighted and surprised to find it was a full-length novel in poetry format. Hurricane Dancers was completely different, but just as lovely. A variety of characters each takes turns telling the events of a famous shipwreck in the early days of European exploration of the...more I recently read Engle's wonderful picture book treatment of one of the earliest female scientists, Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian, and when I saw she'd written a new book, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I was delighted and surprised to find it was a full-length novel in poetry format. Hurricane Dancers was completely different, but just as lovely. A variety of characters each takes turns telling the events of a famous shipwreck in the early days of European exploration of the American continent. Each poem is simply labeled with the name of the speaker, who naturally have very different takes on the turn of events. It's no secret that I am a fan of narrative poetry. As a connoisseur of the genre, I love the way that novels in verse read like any other kind of novel, with the same amount of story arc, but in a condensed, fast-flowing form that cuts directly to the heart of the matter in a spare and beautiful way.

Quebrado, whose Spanish name means "broken" has badly used by his Spanish captors. Bernardino de Talavera is a conquistador transporting his erstwhile comrade-in-arms, now captive, Alonso de Ojeda, both very cruel figures in their own right. After the hurricane, the tables are turned when the Spaniards are thrown on the mercy of Quebrado, the one person who has most reason not to help either of them. The dramatic tension is smoothly handled, and Bernardino and Alonso are petulant, self-justifying and guilt-ridden by turns. In the meantime, Narido, a poor fisherman of the village and Caucubu, daughter of the chief, are in love, but forbidden to marry and Quebrado, who changes his name to Yacuyo, must decide if and how he will help them run away together.

Here is an except from the first poem in the book.

a mourning moan
as this old ship
remembers
her true self,
her tree self,
rooted
and growing
alive,
on shore.

I love that imagery, of the boat being a tree longing to return to shore! It really highlights the perilousness of those early ocean voyages.

The book is appended with an author's note, a historical note, and a list of references. I found the list of English words taken from the Taino language simply fascinating. I had no idea that we owe the Taino for words such as barbeque, barracuda, canoe, guava, hammock, hurricane, iguana, papaya, savannah and tobacco.

Much like Paul Fleishman's Bull Run or Laura Amy Schlitz's Newbery winning book, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, Engle's latest offering of poems would lend itself well to being read aloud in a reader's theatre format. Engle won a Newbery Honor for her 2008 novel, The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom, and I could honestly see Hurricane Dancers as a serious contender for the Newbery this year. Highly recommended.(less)

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Apr 26, 2011 Carrie Shaurette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: tween, nonfiction

Engle's novel about the first Caribbean pirate shipwreck written in verse and told through the perspectives of various characters including pirates, slaves, hostages, and natives is a quick, engaging read. Based on actual people and events, this historical fiction work manages to capture a feeling of adventure while playing with the themes of fear/power/dominance and even including a little romance. After reading this, I am excited to tackle the earlier Engle works that have been sitting on my t...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Jennifer H. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: youth, poetry

It was a good story. Very "poetic," if you will. Just like I don't understand abstract art, I don't get this style of poetry. What makes it poetry? From what I can tell, it has no rhythm, no rhyme, no set pattern of stanzas (I was never good at judging meter, but I suspect it's not there either). It just fragments of sentences broken up at different intervals at various places on a page. You can do that with prose, but I guess it doesn't look as nice. I don't get it.

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Jan 12, 2012 Zachary rated it 2 of 5 stars

Hurricane Dancers, have you ever been on a ship that is running out of food and going into a hurricane? Quebrado was a slave who was being traded from ship to ship. He was useful to pirates because he spoke two languages and could sail a ship. One night it was all over. The ship was sunk by a hurricane. My favorite part is when the hurricane sinks the ship. If you like a well told story, you will love this book.

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Aug 21, 2011 Virginia Walter rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-books

Another fine novel in verse from Engle. The protagonist, Quebrado, is the son of a Taino mother and a Spanish father. He is enslaved by a Spanish pirate until a hurricane sinks the ship and washes him to shore. There he is treated well and assists two star-crossed young lovers whose romance has become part of Cuban lore. This is an evocative glimpse of a bit of history and a culture unknown to most Americans.

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Quotes from Hurricane Dancers: The...

“I have spent all my years
accepting sad truths.

—Quebrado” — 3 people liked it

“I still think of myself
as a broken place, a drifting isle
with no home.

—Quebrado” — 2 people liked it

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title link	preview: Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck
avg rating	preview: Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck Goodreads rating: 3.54 (234 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9170442-hurricane-dancers?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312059625l/9170442.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9170442-hurricane-dancers?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck by Margarita Engle[/url]

Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck

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