''...And Now Miguel'' is a novel by Joseph Krumgold that won the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

for excellence in American

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

in 1954. It deals with the life of Miguel Chavez, a 12-year-old Hispanic-American shepherd from

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

1953 documentary

The story originated as a 1953 documentary motion picture for the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

directed by Krumgold, documenting Miguel Chavez and Pedro Chavez.

...Krumgold and his wife lived with the Chavez family in Los Cordovas, ( Taos County), New Mexico for several months throughout the filming...

1954 novel

1966 feature film

In 1966, a narrative feature film adaptation was directed by James B. Clark and starred Pat Cardi as Miguel, with

Michael Ansara Michael George Ansara (; April 15, 1922 – July 31, 2013) was an American actor. A Syrian-American, he was often cast in Arabic and American Indian roles. His work in both film and television spanned several genres including historical epic ...

Guy Stockwell Harry Guy Stockwell (November 16, 1933 – February 6, 2002) was an American actor who appeared in nearly 30 movies and 250 television series episodes. Life and career Stockwell was born in New York City, the son of singer/dancer Elizabeth "B ...

Clu Gulager William Martin Gulager (; November 16, 1928 – August 5, 2022), better known as Clu Gulager, was an American television and film actor and director born in Holdenville, Oklahoma. He first became known for his work in television, appearing in ...

Joe De Santis Joseph Vito Marcello De Santis (June 15, 1909 – August 30, 1989), known as Joe De Santis, was an American radio, television, movie and theatrical actor. Biography Joseph Vito Marcello De Santis was born to Italian immigrant parents in New ...

Pilar Del Rey Pilar Bougas (May 26, 1929 – February 23, 2025), known professionally as Pilar Del Rey, was an American actress whose career spanned from the late 1940s until 1990. She was best known for portraying Mrs. Obregón in the 1956 epic film ''Giant ...

Buck Taylor Buck Taylor (born Walter Clarence Taylor III,Yoggy, Gary A. (1995). Riding the Video Range: The Rise and Fall of the Western on Television'. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 123. . May 13, 1938) is an American actor and artist, best k ...

"Plodding tale of a young boy who wants to take over as head shepherd of his family's flock". -
VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever MusicHound (often stylized as musicHound) was a compiler of genre-specific music guides published in the United States by Visible Ink Press between 1996 and 2002. After publishing eleven album guides, the MusicHound series was sold to London-based ...

Musical

Jim Hughes and Will Graveman adapted ''...And Now Miguel'' as a musical, produced in 2001 in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

by El Centro Su Teatro and the Arvada Center, and directed by Tony Garcia.

Plot summary

Miguel Chavez has dreamed of visiting the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish language, Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost mountain range, subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountai ...

since he was very little. This summer, he is going to work hard and pray until his father and grandfather realize that he is ready to take the trip with the rest of the older men. His prayers are granted, though ironically – when his older brother is drafted his father needs an extra body and grudgingly allows Miguel to accompany them. Miguel is miserable with the manner in which his wish has been granted, and confesses to his brother what he prayed for. His brother explains that he had been praying to leave New Mexico and see more of the world – while he is not happy about being drafted, he fatalistically accepts that it is the only way he is likely to be able to fulfill his dream. The brothers resolve to allow God to work freely for the rest of their lives, and not bother God with petty requests.

Illustrations

The book was illustrated by artist

Jean Charlot Louis Henri Jean Charlot (February 8, 1898 – March 20, 1979) was a French-born American painter and illustrator, active mainly in Mexico and the United States. Life Charlot was born in Paris. His father, Henri, owned an import-export business ...

, described as "the greatest artist ever to devote himself regularly to the field of children's books". The ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

'' reviewer gave credit to Charlot: "Fully half of our pleasure in the book lay in the superb Charlot drawings."

Book Review, November 15, 1953

References

External links

* * * Newbery Medal–winning works 1953 American novels American children's novels Novels set in New Mexico 1953 children's books Children's books set in New Mexico {{1950s-child-novel-stub