Pam Munoz Ryan's ancestors lived this story, and she has done a great service to write it with such an authentic voice. She has presented a fictionalized account of her own grandmother's fall from wealth and privilege in the aftermath of the revolution in Mexico as she immigrated to the United States to work in a Mexican farm labor camp during the Great Depression. Esperanza, the young protagonist, experiences loss, poverty, separation, prejudice, humiliation and fear on the road to her ultimate rise from the ashes in the manner of the mythical phoenix. Ryan does an excellent job of presenting the dilemma and danger of early attempts to improve the working conditions of the laborer during this period. She points out in the author's notes the grave injustices incurred by the Mexican Deportation Act, which exceeded relocations of the Japanese-Americans during the 2nd World War and of the Native Americans of the previous century. Many of these issues of prejudice and injustice persist today. Adults who enjoy this wonderful children's book should be sure to read "Rain of Gold," by Villasenor.
Summary and Review provided by: Amazon.com
Esperanza Rising, By Pan Munzo Ryan. New York: Scholastic Inc. 2000.
This book is a great way to discuss the Labor camps and the Mexican Desperation Act. This helps paint a picture of US and Central American relations and how things came to be. This would be a great book to begin the talk about current issues between the United States and Mexico. This is a book where it focuses on a different area of the country rather than the typical southern novel or a New York based one. Students can get a glimpse of other settings around the United States which brings a whole new perspective to this reading.
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