Amigos del otro lado - Friends from the Other Side, Del Sol Books

Author : Gloria Anzaldua, Illustrator : Consuelo Mendez
1st Grade - 4th Grade

Amigos del otro lado - Friends from the Other Side

Amigos del otro lado - Friends from the Other Side, Softcover, Bilingual, Book, Gloria Anzaldua, Consuelo Mendez, 1st Grade - 4th Grade, 9780892391301, $7.95

"Did you come from the other side? You know, from Mexico?" So begins the friendship between Prietita and Joaquín, the young boy who, with his mother, has crossed the Rio Grande to Texas in search of a new life.

Prietita, a brave young Mexican American girl, defends Joaquín from the neighborhood kids who taunt him with shouts of mojado or "wetback." But what can she do to protect Joaquín and his mother from the Border Patrol as the van cruises slowly up the street toward their hiding place?

Writer Gloria Anzaldúa is a major Mexican American literary voice. Illustrator Consuelo Méndez is a noted Latin American artist. Both grew up in south Texas. In this, their first collaboration, they have captured not only the hardship of daily life on the border but also the beauty of the landscape and the dignity and generosity of spirit that Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants share.

Listen to Vienna Rose read Friends from the Other Side to you. A marvelous example of the magical encounter between a child and books that we wish for all children.

Kirkus : A straightforward bilingual depiction of the variety of responses to Mexican ``illegals'' by Chicanos already living in Texas. Though her friends' first reaction on seeing Joaqu¡n is hostility toward the young mojadito (wetback), Prietita warns them off and befriends him, planning to take him to the herb woman for treatment for the sores he hides under long sleeves. A visit from the Border Patrol hastens the event; the herb woman hides Joaqu¡n and his mother until the danger is past, then shows Prietita how to help her new friend. What's special about this simple story is the realism with which the circumstances are presented. The migra represent the law, and there's nothing negative in their depiction (``even'' the Chicano migra laughs when someone makes a joke), but Prietita's kindness is clearly what is valued here. In M‚ndez's powerful mixed-media illustrations, freely drawn graphite lines define the strong, planar faces and the poverty of the surroundings; appropriately, pervasive bleak gray is only somewhat tempered by the hot, bright colors of Latino clothing and the desert. An authentic portrayal; an excellent basis for discussion of an important issue. (Picture book. 4-10)

"Friends from the Other Side offers powerful images for children to think about and important issues for parents to discuss with them."
      —San Francisco Chronicle

"Here is a lesson of friendship and respect."
     —Parent & Child

"This story is a wonderfully written tale of friendship … a must for any store with a children's section."
     —Feminist Bookstore News

"This is an important book for libraries … as it touches on a timely and sensitive issue."
     —School Library Journal

"A sensitive look at a life to which children are not usually exposed in picture books."
     —Phoenix Gazette