Esperanza Rising

Esperanza Rising Blog Response

Before reading Esperanza Rising, I really didn’t know what the book was going to be about other than being a multicultural book. I was pleasantly surprised at how good of a read this book really was. The story consisted of several tough situations that all middle grades students may not be aware of but could probably relate to in that most people by this age have encountered their own “tough” situation.

I loved the story of Esperanza and how she was constantly faced with very tough situations that no person her age should have to face. First, she lost her father in a tragic way. She was then forced to flee with her family to California to basically a Hispanic work camp and leave her grandmother behind in Mexico. Then, Esperanza was thrown into the tough working situation with the task of surviving herself and helping her mother who had been hospitalized. While doing all of this, she was saving money to try to bring her grandmother to California to be with her family. This is a tough situation that reminds me of my favorite lesson I have ever been taught. I have always been told, “no matter how bad you may think you have it, someone always has it worse.” Esperanza clearly had a bad situation but instead of feeling sorry for herself, she continued to work hard because that was necessary for survival. Middle grades students can take a lot out of this lesson and is very important.

With everything that has been mentioned thus far, I haven’t even brought up the idea of the treatment of Hispanics or Hispanic Americans. Instead of having a good opportunity in America, Esperanza and her mom were forced into a Hispanic working camp in order to make a living. This is a tough life to live and a situation that Esperanza had to face at a very young age. In case it hasn’t been clear, I really liked this book and feel that it could be useful in so many ways to teach several lessons in a middle grades classroom. I would use it in a heartbeat.

As far as the articles for this week are concerned, the first two articles on Mexican American and Native American literature focused on a key theme that both groups face stereotypes in the country and in the literature that is written on the topics. While these stereotypes are negative, I think students in middle grades can still read the material while noticing and understanding that stereotypical information is included in the literature.

The final article talking about names that are offensive for certain groups was something that I have read a lot on. Many people simply talk about names for African Americans as the main offensive race but these offensive names exist for all races and especially Hispanic and Native American races. Students in middle grades should be aware of these offensive names but unless they are exposed to them in some way, they may not recognize the extent of it.

Harris, V. J., & Reese, D. (1997). Native Americans in Children's Literature. Using multiethnic literature in the K-8 classroom (pp. 155-185). Norwood, Mass.: Christopher-Gordon.

Harris, V. J., Barrera, R. B., & de Cortez, O. G. (1997). Mexican Americans       Children's Literature in the 1990s: Toward Authenticity. Using multiethnic literature in the K-8 classroom (pp. 129-153). Norwood, Mass.: Christopher-Gordon.

Price, S. (2002, March 4). The Indian Wars. Sports Illustrated, 96, 66-72.

Ryan, P. M. (2000). Esperanza rising. New York, New York: Scholastic Inc.