Esperanza Rising

Ryan, Pam Munoz (2000). Esperanza Rising. New York, New York: Scholastic.
I was glad that I was not using this book as a read aloud as I found myself weeping throughout the entire book. I found the story of Esperanza and her family to be very moving. What I found to be most interesting was how timeless the story is. By that I mean it was set in the 1930's, it was written in 2000, and yet the same story is being played out today. The conditions of migrant farm workers are as poor today as they were eighty years or more ago, and really they are worse because in the 1930's very few people had running water, or other niceties that we take for granted. There is still much racial prejudice and a lack of understanding about people that are different than we are. Perhaps some of the legislatures in Arizona should read this book. Maybe it would make them think about some of the things that they are saying and doing.