Summary
Esperanza is the only child of two very wealthy parents in Mexcio, who run a grape farm. Esperanza is about to turn 13 and is looking forward to the huge fiesta for her birthday and the end of the harvest season. A terrible family tragedy occurs, her father dies and her uncles torment her and her mother to get off their property in a multitude of ways. Esperanza, her mother, and their former servant family travel to the United States to work on migrant farms picking fruits and vegetables for very little money. This is a huge struggle for Esperanza, as she is used to having people wait on her hand and foot. When her mother falls ill, Esperanza must work even more than before and adjust to their new hard lifestyle. The story shows Esperanza come out of the struggle and learn what really matters in life.
Suggested Activities
I think this book would be great for a cultural presentation in the library or for classrooms. This story so strongly shows the Mexican culture and families, yet also shows how many Mexican Americans have had to adapt to life in the United States. It would be to have a month, or a section of the library dedicated to different cultures and this book could be there to represent Mexican Americans.
Reviews
Esperanza is born to a life of privilege-she could never have anticipated the life-changing circumstances that follow her father's sudden death. She immigrates to America with her mother, and pursues a lif, apart from the oppressive uncles they leave behind in Mexico. Raised as the daughter of a wealthy rancher, she has always had servants who waited on her. The sudden transition to being a farm laborer and living in the labor camps is a life for which she is ill prepared. Through all of the seemingly unbearable tests that Esperanza faces, she manages to keep her integrity.
Yokota, J., & Cai, M. (2002). Esperanza rising. Language Arts, 79(3), 270. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/196896499?accountid=7113
Esperanza's life as the cherished only daughter of a rich Mexican rancher changes abruptly when her father is killed and her land-hungry uncles begin to pressure her widowed mother. They flee to the U.S., accompanied by their loyal housekeeper, Hortensia, and her son, Miguel. California in 1930 has little to offer penniless Mexican immigrants but hard agricultural labor, and the four settle in a work camp. Esperanza's pragmatic mother turns to field work while Esperanza struggles with an unpleasant learning curve, realizing that she at thirteen lacks the most basic practical skills that her eight-year-old campmate Isabel takes for granted. Things get worse: strikes loom, pressing the workers to take sides; Esperanza's mother falls ill, forcing Esperanza to become la patrons of the family; and Esperanza's dear friend Miguel disappears with the money she's saved. Based on Ryan's grandmother's experiences, this is an unusual story that steers clear of some romantic pitfalls. Though the piquant riches-to-rags element will draw readers, there's no authorial condescension towards Esperanza's campesino fellow workers, and Esperanza's gradual shedding of her own prejudices towards them is perceptively delineated. The discussion of the strike isn't one-sided, though the book does support Esperanza's decision to keep working, and there's some edifying information about the heterogeneousness of the Latino population in the workforce and their forced repatriation and even migration (some U.S. citizens were sent to Mexico as well). Wide-eyed but thoughtful Esperanza makes an attractive agent for these discussions, and her inevitable pairing with Miguel (who took her saved money in order to bring her beloved grandmother from Mexico to join the family) provides both a touch of romance and an illustration of what Esperanza has gained by coming north.
Stevenson, D. (2000). Esperanza rising. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 54(4), 160. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/223694599?accountid=7113
My Thoughts
I knew this was going to be a good book when I brought it in to a restaurant and the waitress told me it was a great book before saying anything else to me! She was right- it was a page turner!
I really fell in love with Esperanza and her family as the story was told. She started out a little spoiled (OK, a lot spoiled) and turned into such a strong, smart young woman. Once her mother got sick at the migrant camps, she really pulled it together and became the strength, the backbone to keep it all going. I love that the author Pam Munoz Ryan showed the reality of the situation and showed how someone can keep their spirits high through it all. It was great to show that the mother faced depression in the face of all the struggles her family went through, and also showed that Esperanza could help find a way to solve the problem by going to work herself.
I also loved that the novel didn't have a typical ending where Esperanza and her mother went back to being wealthy and living the good life in Mexico. Instead, they changed. They learned what was really important, family and friends, instead of money. What a wonderful lesson to learn at such a young age.
Bibliography
Ryan, P. M. (2000). Esperanza rising. New York: Scholastic Inc.
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