I used the book, “La
Mariposa” by Francisco Jimenez as part of a book set. A book set are different books, of different
genres and with different levels of difficulty, so that students are provided
with choice and presented with varied points of view/information when reading
about a certain subject. "La Mariposa" book is a children’s picture book and memoir of
the author’s experiences attending school in the U.S for the first time. He was so excited but, quickly realized that
it would be harder than he thought. Francisco did not speak English and the
teacher refused him any connection to the language at all. He recalled how the teacher’s finger would
work like a windshield wiper, back and forth, telling him not to speak
Spanish. He connected more with the butterfly, drawing pictures, as his escape. This is a good read for those
who experienced a similar situation of being in school or in a community and not understanding
the language. Francisco Jimenez has had
an exceptional life. We are fortunate
that he has shared it with us through his books. “La Mariposa” is a beautifully illustrated
book, with bright colors that portrays the feelings of Francisco so well. The illustrator, Simon Silva, also worked in
the fields as a young man, so the illustrations were as if they were lived
first hand. I chose his book and the
following to represent my text set about migrant agricultural workers. - Lily Woll
Text Set
Translated
Spanish/English copies of “Cajas de Cartón” / “The Circuit” and its sequel,
“Senderos Fronterizos” / “Breaking Through” and “La Mariposa” by Francisco
Jiménez. (Young adult / semiautobiographical/ migrant agricultural laborers)
“Calling the Doves”
by Juan Felipe Herrera (picture book/ bilingual/ migrant agricultural laborers)
“My Diary from here
to There” by Amada Irma Pérez (Migrant / picture book / bilingual)
“A New Day” by Don
Bolognese (Migrant agricultural laborers / picture book)
“Harvesting Hope” by
Kathleen Krull. (Migrant agricultural laborers / biography / picture book)
“A Day’s Work” by Eve
Bunting. (Laborer / picture book)
“Esperanza Rising” by Pam Muñoz Ryan. (Young
adult/fiction/migrant agricultural laborers)
“Under the Mesquite”
by Guadalupe Garcia McCall. (Family responsibility/ migrant / young adult
fiction)
“Voices from the
Field" by S. Beth Atkin. (Juvenile literature / migrant agricultural laborers)
“Latino Migrant
Workers” by Christopher Hovius. (Juvenile literature / migrant agricultural
laborers)
“Merchants of Labor:
The Mexican Bracero Story” by Ernesto Galarza. (Academic/informational/ migrant
agricultural laborers)
“Dark Harvest:
Migrant Farmworkers in America” by Brent Ashabranner. (Academic juvenile
literature / migrant agricultural laborers)
“Migrant Farm
Workers: The Temporary People” by Linda Jacobs Altman. (Academic juvenile
literature / migrant agricultural laborers)
“Barefoot Heart,
Stories of a Migrant Child” by Elva Treviño Hart (Biography / migrant
agricultural laborers)
“Malinche’s Children”
by Daniel Houston-Davila (Fiction / migrant agricultural laborers)
“Daughters Betrayed”
by Josie Méndez-Negrete (Fiction / migrant agricultural laborers)
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