Common Sense Media Review
By Kate Pavao
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Historical fiction at its best in story of '30s farmworkers.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 21 parent reviews
Parents say that this book offers a relatable and enriching narrative that touches on significant social issues like poverty, loss, and migrant struggles, appealing to both children and adults. However, it has faced criticism for its pacing and complexity, with some believing that its themes may be more appropriate for high school readers rather than younger children.
- relatable narrative
- social issues
- childhood struggles
- pacing criticism
- age appropriateness
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Based on 42 kid reviews
Kids say that the book offers a compelling and emotional journey through the life of a young girl who faces immense challenges after losing her father and her family's wealth. While many readers appreciate its inspiring themes of resilience and personal growth, some criticize it for being slow-paced and lacking excitement in certain parts of the story.
- emotional journey
- inspiring themes
- slow pacing
- character growth
- relatable struggles
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Esperanza, the daughter of a wealthy grape grower in Mexico, leads a charmed life -- until bandits kill her father. One of his brothers pressures her mother to marry him, but after he burns down the ranch, Esperanza, her mother, and a family of former servants escape to California to become farmworkers. There, Esperanza must learn to work hard, which proves difficult for a girl who doesn't even know how to use a broom. After her mother is hospitalized with Valley Fever, she joins the field workers through the various crop seasons. But there is more trouble: Some Mexican farmworkers are striking, and other migrants are arriving from other areas, threatening to drive down wages. Esperanza struggles to keep her family together -- and her hope alive.
Is It Any Good?
This is a beautiful book that remains educational and inspirational more than a decade after its publication. Readers will sympathize with Esperanza, who must learn to work hard after living a life of luxury -- but more than that, they will be amazed by the strength she shows as she adjusts to the difficult life of a migrant farmworker. Eventualy, she begins to create her own dream for her life in California. Her story, told with Spanish expertly woven in with the English, may inspire readers to learn about their own family's immigration to America, the plight of farmworkers in the 1930s -- as well as the struggles of farm families living in America today.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Esperanza's story compares with your own family's story of immigrating to America.
This book won a Pura Belpré award, which, according to the American Library Association, is given to "a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth." Why do you think an award like this is necessary? Have you read any other of the winners?
How does Esperanza's life in California compare with the lives of farmworkers today?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Historical Fiction
- Topics : History
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Scholastic Press
- Publication date : October 1, 2000
- Number of pages : 262
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Kindle
- Awards : ALA Best and Notable Books , Pura Belpré Awards and Honors
- Last updated : March 31, 2026
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