Shares the story of the mixed-race saint known for his healing miracles and advocacy of orphaned children, tracing his rise from slavery to becoming an esteemed member of the Dominican Order. - (Baker & Taylor)

The author of the Newbery Honor-winning The Wednesday Wars and the illustrator of the Caldecott Medal-winning Smoky Night shares the triumphant story of the mixed-race saint known for his healing miracles and advocacy of orphaned children, tracing his rise from slavery to becoming an esteemed member of the Dominican Order. 30,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

2013 Pura Belpre Award for Illustration

As the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a former slave, Martin de Porres was born into extreme poverty. Even so, his mother begged the church fathers to allow him into the priesthood. Instead, Martin was accepted as a servant boy. But soon, the young man was performing miracles. Rumors began to fly around the city of a strange mulatto boy with healing hands, who gave first to the people of the barrios. Martin continued to serve in the church, until he was finally received by the Dominican Order, no longer called the worthless son of a slave, but rather a saint and the rose in the desert.

2013 Pura Belpre Award for Illustration

As the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a former slave, Martin de Porres was born into extreme poverty. Even so, his mother begged the church fathers to allow him into the priesthood. Instead, Martin was accepted as a servant boy. But soon, the young man was performing miracles. Rumors began to fly around the city of a strange mulatto boy with healing hands, who gave first to the people of the barrios. Martin continued to serve in the church, until he was finally received by the Dominican Order, no longer called the worthless son of a slave, but rather a saint and the rose in the desert.

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Born illegitimate in the crowded, dirty barrio of Lima, Peru, this son of a freed African slave was almost not baptized. The priest could see no future for a boy of mixed blood other than sweeping streets. But when Martín was eight, his wealthy father returned from Ecuador and eventually apprenticed him to a cirujano—a barber/surgeon. As Martín learned to cut hair and set bones, he found his gift as a healer. After joining a monastery, he was only given menial tasks; but the prior soon learned what the people of Lima were also discovering: Martín had amazing gifts. He cured the poor—then the rich; he fed people and befriended the animals. Later, stories about Martín became ever more fantastical: he could bilocate; angels surrounded him; his citrus trees had bounty all year long. When he died in 1639, he was beloved, and in 1962, he was canonized as the first black saint in the Americas. Although the relationship between Martín and his father may be complicated for some readers, children will respond to the story of a poor, mixed-race boy who transcends his circumstances and triumphs. Schmidt's telling, touching in its simplicity, is well matched with Díaz' exceptional artwork, which is bold and referential in equal parts. In glowing colors, the pictures echo the text's thoughtful and exhilarating questions: Who is this strange boy? Is it possible? Could it be? Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Martmn de Porres (1579 1639), a beloved Peruvian Dominican monk, was canonized in 1962 as the patron saint of universal brotherhood. Schmidt's graceful account of his life focuses mostly on Martmn's impoverished youth among Lima's slaves and Indians. Diaz's visualization of this story is magnificent: rich in Latin American hues, the mixed-media art extends the text on each lovely spread.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

Martín de Porres (1579-1639), son of a Spanish nobleman and an African slave, was a beloved Peruvian Dominican monk who was canonized in 1962 as the patron saint of universal brotherhood. Schmidt's graceful account of his life focuses mostly on Martín's impoverished youth among Lima's slaves and Indians; his father, Don Juan de Porres, after taking the boy to Ecuador, apprenticed him to a doctor/barber back in Lima. Martín's powers of healing were soon noted, though it was years before the monastery he joined at fifteen sanctioned his promotion from menial to brother. Diaz's visualization of this story is magnificent, from a powerfully spiritual title-page portrait to a citywide vista of "slave boys and the Spanish royals and the Indians of the barrio and the priests of the cathedral" holding hands and singing as Martín closes his eyes for the last time. Rich in Latin American hues of red, turquoise, gold, and brown, the mixed-media art extends the text on each lovely spread -- thorny roses wreathing the copyright page; Spanish architecture, elegantly realistic or in a Cubist vista; simply rendered figures of heroic stature, including Martín's mother like a brown Madonna; angels in gleaming silver. Like Saint Francis, Martín was renowned for his love of animals; dovelike birds and affectionate dogs enliven almost every page. joanna rudge long

Kirkus Reviews

With images of surpassing beauty and power and a text both simple and lyrical, Diaz and Schmidt tell the life of the first black saint of the Americas. Martín's mother was African, his father a Spanish nobleman. His father took his children from Lima, Peru, where they lived in desperate poverty, to Ecuador, where he gave them his name. Back in Lima, Martín was apprenticed to a healer, and at 15 he asked admittance to the monastery. Because of his mixed blood he could not be a priest, but he offered himself as a servant. His gifts as a healer became known throughout the city, and Spanish nobles waited for his healing touch while he first tended the poorest and most desperate, both human and animal. Schmidt recounts the story using repeated motifs: the dark eyes of the boy; the frowns of the Spaniards; the name-calling. Diaz achieves an extraordinary luminosity in his illustrations. The tenderness with which Martín treats his charges, the vivid expressions of those who scorn him and those who rely on him, and the balance of shape and stunning color make each page shine. A note offers further details, but, alas, there is no bibliography. A visual--and, it must be said, spiritual--delight. (Picture book/biography. 5-9) Copyright Kirkus 2012 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 2–4—Picture-book biographies of Catholic saints are usually limited to those best known, like Patrick, Francis, Joan of Arc, and Blessed Mother Teresa. Martín de Porres was the first black saint of the Americas, and he has a story as inspiring and evocative of Christian virtue as any other. Born the illegitimate son of a former slave and a Spanish conquistador in 1579 in Lima, Peru, he lived with his mother and sister in abject poverty until he was claimed by his father and eventually apprenticed to a surgeon and found to have healing powers that matched his great piety. He was accepted to be a servant at a Dominican monastery, with the explicit understanding that he, a mulatto, would never become a priest. He showed compassion for all people and animals and was said to have miraculous gifts. But it is his extreme humility that resonates with most biographers, including Schmidt, who tells the story of St. Martín's life in simple and eloquent language, emphasizing his humble servitude and great empathy. Diaz's multimedia illustrations are lush and beautiful, reinforcing the narrative and frequently using iconic images and stylized shapes that evoke stained glass. Some drawings of Martín, however, are inconsistent. His age occasionally seems to shift out of sequence, and the changing shape of his nose and eyes in particular results in some visual dissonance for young readers. Nonetheless, this is an artful and reverent portrait of a little-known figure.—Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC