Module 11

Redo due to corrections

Summary

For Informational books, which were in the nonfiction section of my library in Dallas, I chose to blog about Harvesting Hope: The True Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull and Illustrated by Yuyi Morales. This is a true story about Cesar Chavez who, as a man stood up for the plight of the migrant farm worker. Chavez wanted the migrant workers to receive fair wages and to have decent living conditions. The land owners that the workers labored for would not pay a decent wage a day for picking the produce. Cesar Chavez started the National Farm Workers Association after organizing and facilitating peaceful protest marches all over the State of California. After a horrific struggle, The NFWA finally was able to get decent living and working conditions with good pay and contracts. Chavez literally changed thousands of lives for the better and used peaceful marches as his tool. He died at the age of sixty-six in 1993.

Impression

I was first blown away by the illustrations as they were so vibrant and detailed – the drawings really helped tell the story. I liked the story because it tells how Cesar made the American dream come true for him and many other people. He was born in America and lived on a farm as a young boy and then his family had to become migrant workers to earn a living. This book really shows that adversity can be overcome and that one person can make a difference and be a catalyst for change.

Reviews from Amazon.com

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-The dramatic story of Chavez's 340-mile march to protest the working conditions of migrant farmworkers in California is the centerpiece of this well-told biography. Readers meet Chavez at his grandparents' home in Arizona where he lived happily amid a large extended family. His childhood was cut short when, due to financial difficulties, the family was forced to move to California to seek employment. After years of laboring in the fields, Chavez became increasingly disturbed by the inhuman living conditions imposed by the growers. The historic 1965 strike against grape growers and the subsequent march for "La Causa" are vividly recounted, and Chavez's victory-the agreement by the growers granting the workers better conditions and higher pay-is palpable. While sufficient background information is provided to support the story and encourage further research, focusing on one event makes the story appealing to younger readers. The text is largely limited to one side of a spread; beautifully rendered earth-toned illustrations flow out from behind the words and onto the facing page. A fine addition to any collection. Sue Morgan, Tom Kitayama Elementary School, Union City, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. When Cesar Chavez was 10 years old, drought forced his family to leave its Arizona ranch and move to California. The family became migrant workers, poorly paid and badly treated. As an adult, Chavez organized a nonviolent revolt, culminating in a 300-mile protest march that produced the first farmworkers' contract. Krull's language demonstrates a poetic sensibility ("The eighty acres of their ranch were an island in the shimmering Arizona desert, and the stars were all their own."), but the vocabulary will challenge young children, and a few socio-cultural details aren't made clear: some kids will wonder about the "White Trade Only" signs and why Chavez couldn't speak Spanish in school. But Morales' gorgeous paintings, with their rounded, organic forms and lush, gemstone hues, more than make up for glitches as they draw children deeply into an inspiring picture-book account of a young boy who grew up to change the world. Traci Todd
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Lesson

In the library setting I would use this book to keep Chavez’s story alive. Sometimes people forget about how people struggled to feed their families and still do today. I would read it aloud to the children and then have them draw and write a summary of what they learned. I would particularly use this book during Mexican American Heritage month.