Esperanza Rising

Summary

Esperanza Rising takes on the role of a young, spoiled, Mexican girl, Esperanza Ortega. She happily lives on her family's estate in Aguascalientes, Mexico surrounded by fancy dresses and servants. But due to family jealousy, her father is murdered and she and her mother are forced to move to a Mexican farm labor camp in California. Here she has a difficult time confronting that she is poor, and sometimes forgets she has to take off her own clothes before bathing. When Esperanza does not think life can get any worse, her mother falls ill with valley fever and others threaten to go on strike. Esperanza Rising also covers cultural issues. Her friend does not get a school award because the country she is from, and many people are upset because the workers from Oklahoma recieve better conditions than them. Esperanza Rising becomes becomes much meaningful when you learn that this was not a pure fiction store invented by Pam Munez Ryan, but a retelling of a story told by her grandmother to her, and her experiences coming to America.

Esperanza Rising has won the following awards: -Pura Belpré Award which honors Latino authors whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in a children's book -2001 ALA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults -Smithsonian Best Books 2000 -Publisher's Weekly Best Children's Books 2000 -L.A. Times Best Books of 2000 -Excellence in a Work of Fiction Award 2001 Children's Literature Council of Southern California -2001 Judy Goddard/Libraries Limited Arizona Young Adult Author Award -Jane Addams Children's Book Award, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

Sources:

Ryan, Pam Munez. Esperanza Rising. "Esperanza Rising." <http://www.pammunozryan.com/esper.html> "Esperanza Rising: Summary." <http://www.1b1b.com/esperanzaRising>