Overview

«Cervantes estaría orgulloso de que su novela de hace 400 años esté ayudando a estos extraordinarios chicos y su maestro a comprender sus vidas». --SALMAN RUSHDIE «En todos mis años de escritora y profesora universitaria no he visto nunca nada igual». --VALERIA LUISELLI «Haff retrata lo que la educación en Estados Unidos podría, y quizá debería, ser». --ANDREW SOLOMON «Todo el mundo debería leer este libro». --CRISTINA HENRÍQUEZ Los Kid Quixotes de Brooklyn cuenta la historia de un pequeño local de Nueva York donde, todas las tardes, un maestro se reune con un grupo de chicos de entre cinco y quince años para leer y escribir en inglés y español, a salvo de las preocupaciones de las familias inmigrantes en una época de declarada hostilidad. Tras superar una crisis personal, Stephen Haff, creó este espacio dedicado a la empatía y la colaboración en el que todos, adultos y niños, cumplen con reverencia una única regla: escucharse los unos a los otros. Este sencillo acto de generosidad produce efectos asombrosos. En estas páginas descubrimos cómo Stephen y sus estudiantes trabajan en grupo para traducir Don Quijote del inglés y convertirlo en una obra musical que acabarán representando en ayuntamientos, embajadas y universidades. La atención reverencial que han aprendido a prestarse unos a otros los ha impulsado a superar todo tipo de dificultades y transmitir un mensaje de solidaridad y resistencia lleno de esperanza y optimismo. Stephen Haff es el fundador de Still Waters in a Storm. Fue maestro de Lengua y Literatura en Bushwick High durante más de diez años. Obtuvo una maestría en teatro en la Universidad de Yale y ha dirigido obras e impartido clases en Nueva York, Vermont y Canadá. Asimismo, ha escrito para The Village Voice, American Theater y otras publicaciones.

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The story of the Kid Quixotes is gritty, moving, and inspirational. It is a potent reminder of how powerful gentleness is, how important respectful, sincere attention is--an urgently needed reminder in our time. Stephen Haff is a great teacher who has allowed himself to be taught. This beautiful book shows the reader, among other things, how to learn and to keep learning through careful, gentle attention to people, words, and ideas. --Mary Gaitskill, author of Bad Behavior The one rule at Still Waters in a Storm, the beautiful school at the heart of this beautiful book, is 'everyone listens to everyone.' I listened to the many voices telling this necessary story, and I was moved and changed by them. --Jonathan Safran Foer, New York Times bestselling Author of Everything is Illuminated In my years of experience as a writer and as a college professor, I have never seen anything like this: the love for language, the passion for discussion, clarity of mind, and humility of heart. Stephen Haff invents impossible projects and makes them possible. --Valeria Luiselli, author of Lost Children Archive In lively dialogue both funny and heartbreaking, and a multiplicity of narrative voices, Kid Quixotes allows its characters to tell their own deeply moving stories. This is a book that listens. --George F. Walker, author of Love and Anger, winner of the Governor General's Award for Drama In a Bushwick storefront classroom, Stephen Haff and his mostly immigrant Kid Quixotes have created a community of joyful learning, resilience, courage, astounding creativity, generosity, and love. Haff is a humble genius and visionary, and this book brings you into that enchanting, truly revolutionary classroom. --Francisco Goldman, author of Say Her Name In Kid Quixotes, the children of Latino migrants in Bushwick, Brooklyn, carry on Don Quixote's mission to bring literature to life and rescue the world in the process. Stephen Haff reveals the power of words to heal oneself and a country simultaneously formed by migrants and suspicious of them. Cervantes couldn't be any prouder. --Rogelio Minana, author of La verosimilitud en el Siglo de Oro, head of the Department of Global Studies and Modern Languages, Drexel University I wept and cheered all through this extraordinary book. There is magic in these pages just as surely as Stephen Haff and his students prove there is magic in the act of telling and, importantly, in the act of listening. Everyone everywhere needs to read this book. --Cristina Henriquez, author of The Book of Unknown Americans Haff paints a picture of what education in America could and perhaps should be. His story is passionately honest, profoundly open-minded, and suffused with optimism, and his writing is crisp and clear and persuasive. --Andrew Solomon, National Book Award-winning author of The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression Cervantes would be proud that his 400-year-old novel is helping these extraordinary schoolkids and their impressive teacher make sense of their lives; face their fears; and tell their stories with courage, imagination, and song. --Salman Rushdie, New York Times bestselling author of Quichotte Behind a storefront in Bushwick, Stephen Haff is doing the work of angels. The story of his evolution into a teacher making a huge difference in the lives and education of immigrant children is inspiring enough, and the stories of the children themselves are a fascinating tapestry; but the message throughout--that we listen to one another, and respect study and expression--overrides it all. It should be woven into all systems of education. You cannot read this book and go a page without being thoroughly inspired. --Susan Minot, author of Monkeys and Evening A remarkable demonstration of the actual miracles that can be performed with no resources beyond the determination of an individual and the community that rallies to support him. It's the most inspiring book I've read in a long, long time. --Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours, winner of the Pulitzer Prize A necessary antidote to despair and reminder of the immensity of what can be accomplished in a single neighborhood, in a single classroom, and how that can improve us all. --Phil Klay, National Book Award-winning author of Redeployment Kid Quixotes is one of the most achingly poignant and genuinely inspiring books I have ever read. Steve Haff 's clarion call for diversity and inclusion, his emphasis on empathetic listening, and his conviction that classic literature can be urgently relevant to our lives today make his a peerless pedagogy. The story of his brave, creative, and resilient students will win your heart completely; the story of his school should galvanize reforms of our educational system and political policies and remind everyone that any true education must be founded on love. --Priscilla Gilman, author of The Anti-Romantic Child: A Memoir of Unexpected Joy Kid Quixotes is alive with humor and heartbreak. It is a great reminder of the resilience of children in the face of adversity. Goliath may have become ruler of the land by spewing hatred toward immigrants, but, true to their namesake, the Kid Quixotes refuse to stand by idle in the face of injustice. Their stories weave into powerful songs echoing with optimism and purpose and resounding with a love that refuses to be silenced. --Maria Venegas, author of Bulletproof Vest Kid Quixotes is an adventure of the human spirit, a glimpse into the genius of immigrant children who overcome circumstances few readers can imagine with courage, heroism, and the love and dedication of a visionary teacher. . . . A riveting, inspiring, and ultimately triumphant ode to the power of education and indomitability of the imagination. --William Egginton, Johns Hopkins University, author of The Man Who Invented Fiction: How Cervantes Ushered in the Modern World

Author Information

Stephen Haff is the founder of Still Waters in a Storm, a one-room school serving Spanish-speaking immigrant children in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Previously, he taught English at a public school in Bushwick for nearly a decade. He earned his MFA in Theater Studies at Yale, and has made a living directing plays and writing essays for the Village Voice and other publications. Stephen lives in Queens with his wife, children's book author Tina Schneider, and their three children.

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