Related+fiction+titles

Alvarez, Julia (2009). //Return to Sender//. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Set in 2006, this compelling narrative is told alternately from the point of view of a Vermont boy who lives on a farm that has just hired some Mexican workers and a young Mexican girl who has moved to the farm with her father, sisters, and uncles. The 2010 winner of the Pura Belpré award. This book is for more mature readers.

DeFelice, Cynthia. (2003). Under the Same Sky. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Expert storyteller DeFelice tells the story of fourteen-year-old Joe Pederson who decides to join the Mexican work crew on his father’s farm to earn some spending money. He quickly learns about some of the difficulties including prejudice and fear that the Mexican workers have to live with daily. Compelling read for fifth grade and up.

Jaramillo, Ann. (2006). //La L////ínea.// Connecticut: New Milford Press. Recommended for seventh grade and up. When Miguel decides to cross the border, he doesn’t realize that his little sister is following him. Together, they endure hardships and danger on their journey.

Mulder, Michelle. (2009). //After Peaches//. Custer, Washington: Orca Book Publishers. Although set in Canada, ten-year-old Rosario faces common issues of being teased for her accent and balancing her school life with her life as a migrant worker.

Resau, Laura (2010). //A Star in the Forest//. New York: Delacorte. A brand new book that deals with issues of immigration when Zitlally’s father is deported. He is later kidnapped and held for ransom as well. Luckily Zitlally befriends an abandoned dog left in the junkyard near her trailer park and a neighbor girl who turns out to be a true friend. This book will appeal to fourth and fifth graders, especially.

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. (2000). //Esperanza Rising//. New York: Scholastic Press. Based on the author’s grandmother's life, Esperanza travels to the United States under unfortunate circumstances. She becomes a migrant laborer and suffers greatly but manages to overcome the hardships she faces. Set during The Great Depression, this book precedes The Circuit by about twenty years although little changed in those years for migrant farmworkers.

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More related fiction: __ Lowery, Linda. (2006). //Truth and Salsa//. Margarita travels to Mexico to live with her grandmother for six months. Her adventures will be amusing and pleasurable reading for fourth grade and up.

Soto, Gary. (1990). //Baseball in April and Other Stories.// San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Recommended sixth grade and older, Soto’s stories are about ordinary Latino kids and their everyday experiences growing up in Southern California.