At the age of three, Juana Inés followed her older sisters to school and asked the teacher to make her a student too. From that day on, her drive for knowledge never flagged as she defied the traditions of 17th-century Mexico to study in ways reserved for men. At age ten Juana began to study with a tutor in Mexico City. She became a lady-in-waiting at the palace when she was 15, where she had access to the palace library. Later, the viceroy invited 40 scholars to quiz Juana, but they were unable to stump her with their questions. Eventually, she chose to continue her learning as a nun, became a renowned poet, and developed a huge library for her treasured books. Although no sources are cited, an author’s note provides additional information about this amazing woman and scholar. (Ages 5-10)

From the author of Tomás and the Library Lady, an amazing, true story about the quest for knowledge that inspired one of Mexico’s most famous and beloved poets, Sor Juana Inés.
Juana Inés was just a little girl in a village in Mexico when she decided that the thing she wanted most in the world was her very own collection of books, just like in her grandfather’s library. When she found out that she could learn to read in school, she begged to go. And when she later discovered that only boys could attend university, she dressed like a boy to show her determination to attend. Word of her great intelligence soon spread, and eventually, Juana Inés was considered one of the best scholars in the Americas–something unheard of for a woman in the 17th century.
Today, this important poet is revered throughout the world and her verse is memorized by schoolchildren all over Mexico.