Author :
Pam Munoz Ryan
5th Grade and up
Esperanza
renace
Esperanza Rising
Esperanza renace,
Softcover, Spanish, Book, Pam
Munoz Ryan, 5th Grade and up,
9780439398855, $6.99
Esperanza
Rising, Softcover, English, Book, Pam
Munoz Ryan, 5th Grade and up,
9780439120425, $6.99
$333.83 for the Story Collection Pura Belpre Spanish Set, Including 20%-Off, Free Shipping, and No Sales Tax : 2 Hardcover Spanish Book, 8 Hardcover Bilingual Book, 19 Softcover Spanish Books, and 12 Softcover Bilingual Books
$448.07 for the Story Collection Pura Belpre English Set, Including 20%-Off, Free Shipping, and No Sales Tax : 24 Hardcover English Books and 18 Softcover English Books
Pura Belpre Award Winning Book in 2002 for Narrative
Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico--she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, & servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When their new life is threatened, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances--Mama's life and her own depend on it.
Publishers Weekly : "With a hint of magical realism, this robust novel set in 1930 captures a Mexican girl's fall from riches and her immigration to California," said PW in our Best Books citation. Ages 8-12. (June)
School Library
Journal : Grade 6-9-Ryan uses the experiences of her own Mexican grandmother
as the basis for this compelling story of immigration and assimilation, not
only to a new country but also into a different social class. Esperanza's
expectation that her 13th birthday will be celebrated with all the material
pleasures and folk elements of her previous years is shattered when her father
is murdered by bandits. His powerful stepbrothers then hold her mother as a
social and economic hostage, wanting to force her remarriage to one of them,
and go so far as to burn down the family home. Esperanza's mother then decides
to join the cook and gardener and their son as they move to the United States
and work in California's agricultural industry. They embark on a new way of
life, away from the uncles, and Esperanza unwillingly enters a world where she
is no longer a princess but a worker. Set against the multiethnic,
labor-organizing era of the Depression, the story of Esperanza remaking
herself is satisfyingly complete, including dire illness and a difficult
romance. Except for the evil uncles, all of the characters are rounded, their
motives genuine, with class issues honestly portrayed. Easy to booktalk,
useful in classroom discussions, and accessible as pleasure reading, this
well-written novel belongs in all collections.
Booklist : Gr. 5-8. Moving from a Mexican ranch to the company labor camps of California, Ryan's lyrical novel manages the contradictory: a story of migration and movement deeply rooted in the earth. When 14-year-old Esperanza's father is killed, she and her mother must emigrate to the U.S., where a family of former ranch workers has helped them find jobs in the agricultural labor camps. Coming from such privilege, Esperanza is ill prepared for the hard work and difficult conditions she now faces. She quickly learns household chores, though, and when her mother falls ill, she works packing produce until she makes enough money to bring her beloved abuelita to the U.S.. Set during the Great Depression, the story weaves cultural, economic, and political unrest into Esperanza's poignant tale of growing up: she witnesses strikes, government sweeps, and deep injustice while finding strength and love in her family and romance with a childhood friend. The symbolism is heavy-handed, as when Esperanza ominously pricks her finger on a rose thorne just before her father is killed. But Ryan writes movingly in clear, poetic language that children will sink into, and the books offers excellent opportunities for discussion and curriculum support.
Story
Collection Pura Belpre :