1968 Newbery Honor book
From the depths of a cave in the Vermilion Sea, Ramon Salazar has wrested a black pearl so lustrous and captivating that his father, an expert pearl dealer, is certain Ramon has found the legendary Pearl of Heaven. Such a treasure is sure to bring great joy to the villagers of their tiny coastal town, and even greater renown to the Salazar name. No diver, not even the swaggering Gaspar Ruiz, has ever found a pearl like this!
But is there a price to pay for a prize so great? When a terrible tragedy strikes the village, old Luzon’s warning about El Diablo returns to haunt Ramon. If El Diablo actually exists, it will take all Ramon’s courage to face the winged creature waiting for him offshore.---from the publisher
144 pages 978-0547334004 Ages 10-13
Keywords: historical fiction, classic, treasure, Newbery Honor, self reliance, myths and legends, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, 13 year old
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Ramon cannot believe what he has just found in an oyster he's brought up from an underwater cave where the Manta Diablo, the monster devilfish, lurks. Ramon is holding a pearl. Not just any pearl, but the most fabulous gem he or anyone else has ever seen. But neither sixteen-year-old Ramon nor his father foresees the trouble that such a pearl can bring. It will be young Ramon who must stop the monster he has unleashed.---from the publisher
