Esperanza Rising

by Pam Munoz Ryan
This book was great. Of course it reminded so much of my childhood, not that my family were migrant workers from Mexico, but that we lived in the San Joaquin Valley where this story takes place. Especially my memories from when we lived in Greenfield, California which actually was a little town on the outskirts of Bakersfield that was surrounded by cotton fields. I remember going to the truck stop on the corner and seeing the workers as they gathered for the days work and loaded into the back of pickup trucks. Every trip to visit my grandparents meant us driving past Arvin and the fields where we could actually see the shantys and the workers bent in the fields and up through the Grapevine. I grew up in a world surrounded by prejudice against the Mexicans and am grateful that many of my friends in school were Mexican and that through knowing them I learned that they were no different than me. I am also grateful that I chose to take three years of Spanish in High School and that through these experiences my love grew for Mexico and the Mexican people.

I know there are several books out there about Migrant Workers, but this one is not just informative, but also really well written. My kids enjoyed the book and I appreciate the chance it gave me to talk to them about my childhood and some of the memories that I still retain. It's funny, but one of the things the kids enjoyed the most is that the chapters were titled with a different food.