ESPERANZA RISING

Esperanza Rising Pam Munoz Ryan

GREEN LIGHT

AGES: 5TH - 8TH GRADE

It's hard to believe, but the start of school is right around the corner. My days are filled with getting our homeschool ready and prepping for my group classes. Recently, I finished reading a wonderful book, Esperanza Rising, and it will be included in my Upper Elementary/Middle Grade Literature Group's reading this year.

Esperanza Rising is the moving story loosely based on author Pam Munoz Ryan's grandmother's life. It follows the story of Esperanza, a girl born into immense wealth and privilege, who lives in Mexico. In a time when women hold no power or authority, the unexpected death of her father by bandits forces her life to change drastically. Despite deeply mourning the loss of her father, Esperanza and her mother must escape to the United States to find a new life. but their new start won't resemble anything of the old. life. Gone are the days of beautiful dresses, servants, fiestas, and freedom. Now, Esperanza and her mother rise early every morning to pick crops in the fields of California. Bitter and lonely, Esperanza begins to learn from the peasants she is now forced to associate with that there's so much more to life than what she ever realized.

This moving story deals with great themes such as loss/death, new starts, the power of friendship/community, and more