Mi diario de aqui hasta alla - My Diary from Here to There, Del Sol Books

Author : Amada Irma Perez, Illustrator : Maya Christina Gonzalez
1st Grade - 4th Grade

Mi diario de aqui hasta alla - My Diary from Here to There

Mi diario de aqui hasta alla - My Diary from Here to There, Softcover, Bilingual, Book, Amada Irma Perez, Maya Christina Gonzalez, 1st Grade - 4th Grade, 9780892392308, # 10124s, $7.95
Mi diario de aqui hasta alla - My Diary from Here to There, Hardcover, Bilingual, Book, Amada Irma Perez, Maya Christina Gonzalez, 1st Grade - 4th Grade, 9780892391752, # 10124h, $16.95

2004 Pura Belpré Honor Award from the American Library Association
2002 Amerîcas Award Commended Title

Teacher's Guide

From the author of My Very Own Room comes this autobiographical tale of a young girl's journey with her family from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to their new home in Los Angeles, California.

One night, young Amada overhears her parents whisper of moving from Mexico to the other side—to Los Angeles, where greater opportunity awaits. As she and her family make their journey north, Amada records her fears, hopes, and dreams for their lives in the United States in her diary. How can she leave her best friend behind? What if she can't learn English? What if her family never returns to Mexico? From Juárez to Mexicali to Tijuana to Los Angeles, Amada learns that with her family's love and her belief in herself, she can make any journey and weather any change—here, there, anywhere.

Pérez captures the essence of the trauma of moving to a new place that is universal to all children, but here it is expanded by the facts of her immigrant experience. Gonzalez, . . . packs her lively pages with vibrant, jewel-toned color and vivid images, illuminating the text and adding the richness of the culture. A nice touch is the back of the book jacket, which is a map of the area, showing the route from Amada's old home to the new one. Pérez has plainly remembered her grandmother's advice: "Keep your language and culture alive in your diary and in your heart." Very nicely done.

Listen to Vienna Rose read My Diary from Here to There to you. A marvelous example of the magical encounter between a child and books that we wish for all children.

—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Affecting . . . Breathtaking throughout are Gonzalez's illustrations, which blaze with color and capture both the hilariously mundane details of life, such as the antics of Amada's unruly brothers, and the imagination's terrain."

—The Horn Book Magazine

"This poignant, bilingual story of a young girl's journey to an unfamiliar new home . . . is more than an immigrant's tale. It sympathetically explores the fear many children have of the unknown and their sorrow at leaving the familiar behind. . . it's comforting whether you're moving to a new town or to a new country. . . Wonderfully illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzales, in warm-hued paintings with a childlike sensibility. The book's uplifting ending reassures children that they, too, can deal with the new and unknown." "Grade: A"—Orange County Register

Publishers Weekly : The team behind My Very Own Room/Mi propio cuartito again takes its inspiration from an event in the author's childhood, this time exploring the feelings of a Mexican girl on the verge of starting a new life in Los Angeles. While the rest of the family proclaims excitement at their imminent move ("They have escalators to ride!" says one of her five brothers), Amada confides her fears to her journal: "Am I the only one who is scared of leaving our home, our beautiful country, and all the people we might never see again?" Her father tells her, "You are stronger than you think," but Amada isn't sure. In the end, she indeed discovers her strength, as well as a way to keep beloved friends and relatives back in Mexico "in my memories and in my heart." P‚rez sensitively explores her protagonist's emotional journey, peppering the narrative with details of specific moments-Amada's last walk in the park with her best friend, an uncle's magic trick to keep up the children's spirits. Gonzalez's color-saturated vignettes unfold against eye-catching backdrops of turquoise, yellow, green and purple, and the sweeping brush strokes and bold, slightly stylized features of her characters lend the pages a folk art feel. English and Spanish versions of the text are cleanly worked into the compositions. Ages 6-up.

Booklist : Gr. 2-5. In her first diary entry, Amada is anxious about her family's move from Juarez, Mexico, to Los Angeles. Despite her father's assurances, she worries that they will never return to Juarez, that she won't be able to learn English, and that he will have problems finding work. Amada records their travels, their stay with relatives in Mexicali, eventual journey to Los Angeles, and the joyful reunion with their father. Told consistently through the eyes and feelings of a child, the narrative successfully telescopes the family odyssey. The art, done in the style of murals, features broad-faced human figures and a vibrant palette highlighted by purples and turquoises. As in her previous book, My Very Own Room (2000), Perez tells her story in both Spanish and English (here the appended personal note is only in English). Any child who has moved away from a familiar neighborhood or a best friend will identify with Amada, but her story will especially resonate with immigrant kids.

Bilingual Collection Red Books :