Book Review : Esperanza Rising

Book : Esperanza rising 

Author :Pam Munoz Ryan

Genre : Fiction ( young adult ) 

Pura Belpré award winner(Medal )  for narrative in the year 2002 . 

 Based on the author’s own life events, this story revolves around a young immigrant from Mexico to the US . 

Esperanza ,was the daughter of a rich rancher Sixto Ortega . She lived in el Rancho de las Rosas , Aguascalientes, Mexico  along with her father , mother Ramona , grandma abuelita and the servant family Alfonso , Hortensia and their son Miguel .

She was an Happy go girl until her thirteenth birthday , it was the end of the harvest and she was all set for a feast the next day  since it was her birthday. But to her shock , her father who went with the farmers for some

Cattle work , didn’t return home till evening . Her  father’s step brothers Tio Louis and Tio Marco who hold a big post in their community ( whom she doesn’t like ) comes home just to say that her father and his men  were attacked by the bandits and they are no more . 

Life gets upside down , Her uncle Tio Louis , the bank president comes with a proposal to marry her mother ,reason being he wants to compete for the governor post  and Ramona by his side as a wife will help him to get more votes . Their house  and the ranch was set on fire since her mom refuses his proposal . Abuelita gets a fracture in her ankle and was sent to the convent where her sisters work.

Mama , Esperanza and the servant family escapes to Los Angeles with the help of their neighbour and abuelita’s sisters .abuelita was left back in el Rancho de las Rosas since she was injured, but she had promised to join them once she is cured . They get settled in a Mexican camp where Alfonso’s brother and his family lives . 

From a princess to an immigrant in a camp , they were forced to start the life again in a small wooden cabin . How she gets adjusted to the life as an immigrant , the tough times that followed her and whether abuelita has joined them is the rest of the story .

Review

An heart touching and inspiring story on perseverance , struggle , loss , hard work , hope etc. The character , Esperanza impresses us right from being a rich ranchers daughter who used to say to Miguel “ we stand on different sides of the river “ to Moving away with him as an immigrant ,facing lot of hardships in USA ,and feeling for the words she said every time when she came across Miguel . The story starts with a Spanish proverb which means “ He who falls today may rise tomorrow “ that typically conveys the theme of the book . Miguel’s character is very impressive , he reiterates to Esperanza every time that how important hard work  and perseverance is .Do not ever be afraid to start over is the concluding words of the novel by Esperanza , while she is waiting for a better tomorrow ,because Esperanza means Hope in Spanish . 

Check out the book to find out how Esperanza is trying to rise against all odds . 

MANGO, ABUELA and ME

Book Name  : Mango , Abuela and me 

Author : Meg Medina 

Illustrator : Angela Dominguez

Recommended age : 4 plus 

Mango Abuela and me was written by meg medina based on her own life experiences with her grandmother .It is a Pura Belpré honor award winner  for both the author and illustrator .With bright and expressive illustrations the story of this exceptional picture Book goes like this :

Mia belongs to a Latino  family and she lives with her papi ( father ) , Mami ( mother ) and Edmund her pet hamster . Her far-away  grandmother ( that’s how Mia calls her ) leaves her sunny house  with parrots and palm trees  to come live with Mia and her parents in the city . 

Mia shares her room with Abuela ( grandmother ) , that night Mia reads her favorite story book to Abuela , but she didn’t understand  , reason being Abuela understands and speaks only Espanol ( Spanish ) and not English . Day after day Mia finds it difficult to communicate  with Abuela . 

One day Mia decides to teach Abuela English and starts her lesson one by one , right from teaching simple words/names of things they come across everyday to  sticking word cards everywhere in the room , Mia tries to execute her work not only by teaching English but  at the same time learning Spanish from Abuela . 

But, one day her visit to a pet shop with mom to buy seeds for Edmund her hamster , gives her a better idea to make Abuela more comfortable in learning English . What idea did Mia got at the pet shop and how Abuela and Mia got along together without any barrier in communication is the rest of the story . 

Review : 

The story that tells  us the importance of a family . A story that connects well with our day to day life as a family . Grandparents  love is always special to each one of us , whatever our age is . The visual of myself teaching my grandmother how to operate a Tv remote came in every now and then while reading the story . It emphasizes the importance of communication and working together to  find a solution for the problem . 

With vivid illustrations the story conveys us a beautiful message “El amor no tiene lenguaje” ( love has no language ) .  A must have in everyone’s library.