Ryan, P.M. (2000). Esperanza Rising. [New York]: Scholastic.

For Esperanza, everything is wonderful in her happy home in Aguascalientes, Mexico until a terrible tragedy changes her life forever. As they begin to build a new future in America, Esperanza and her mother face hardships as they begin the difficult life of migrant farmer workers. At first Esperanza doesn’t understand that she is now considered a peasant and she struggles with the daily chores needed. Soon she learns what to do, and she has to take care of Mama when she gets desperately ill. With the backdrop of the Dust Bowl and migrant worker’s rights, this story has many layers of meaning.

This touching story broke my heart again and again as Esperanza and her mother struggle to survive in their new land. Their troubles helped me to understand the hardships and difficulties that face immigrant workers, even though this is far from my own reality. I loved how Pam Muñoz  Ryan used the harvesting season to mark the chapters in her book, as this is how many migrant farmers describe time. This book is exactly what I think great multicultural literature should be – a wonderful story that transports the reader into another culture with rich description, deep, dynamic characters, and unique experiences that define the many ways of life for the people of that culture.