*****= An all-time favorite
**** = Outstanding
*** = Above
average
**
= Enjoyable
*
= Good, with reservations
***Harvesting Hope
The Story of Cesar Chavez
by Kathleen Krull
illustrated by Yuyi Morales
Reviewed September 1, 2003.
Harcourt, San Diego, 2003. 48 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (JB CHA).
A 2004 Pura Belpré Honor Book for Illustration.
Winner of the 2004 Christopher Award for ages 8-10.
Here’s a biography of Cesar Chavez, told in a simple picture book
style. The book I read by John Steinbeck, On America and Americans, talked
about the desperate plight of California’s migrant workers. This
book told about a man who did something about it.
The book starts with his happy childhood on his family’s farm, ended
by a drought that forced them to turn to life as migrant workers.
It describes a little bit of the hardships they then faced, focusing on things
kids can understand, like a teacher who made him wear a sign reading, “I
am a clown. I speak Spanish.”
The book stresses Chavez’s commitment to nonviolence. The climax
is his three hundred mile march to Sacramento that resulted in an agreement
with the grape companies. A note at the back of the book explains
how he continued to spend his life working for better conditions for the
farm workers.
Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund