Esperanza Rising

Ryan, P. M. (2007). Esperanza rising. New York: Scholastic Inc.

Age Level: 11-13

Genre:  Multicultural/Historical Fiction

This story is about a family who must move from their riches in Mexico to poor conditions in the United States.  Esperanza, who has lived in luxury in Mexico, is forced to hard labor and tough times during the Great Depression in America.  Esperanza deals with many rough times while growing up and learns to enjoy the simple things in life rather than spending time thinking of the things she can no longer have.  When her mother becomes very ill, Esperanza must get a job and take care of her mother.  Times are tough and through the years Esperanza grows into a self-sufficient young lady.  The text states “Do not be afraid to start over” (p. 15).  I feel that this is a powerful statement that sums up what Esparanza must do in this text. 

This text has a prologue introducing the necessary background of the story.  I see hints of foreshadowing in the text.  This is especially seen in the beginning when Esperanza cuts a rose vine and pricks her finger.  She says when this happens that she feels this is a sign of bad luck to come.  She soon finds out her father has been murdered.

The text is a multicultural text because the main character is Esperanza, a young Hispanic girl.  It is also considered multicultural because the setting is very diverse.  Part of the story takes place in Mexico and part of it takes place in America.  This story is also considered historical fiction because it takes place during the Great Depression.  The Great Depression plays a very important role in the plot of this text.  The text is filled with historical perspective on the times of the Great Depression.  I feel that this text could easily be incorporated into history lessons on the past and on lessons about reasons why people migrate. 

I absolutely loved this book and have already recommended it to two of my advanced readers in my class.  Although I know this text is advanced, I really think some of my third graders would love it.  They could connect with the struggles of Esperanza as many of them have struggles also.

Ideas for teaching/comprehension strategies that can be used with this text:   Since this is a longer text, I’d like to allow my students to use post-it notes to track their thinking.  This would be great to make predictions, inferences or connections.  These would be great skills because this story has a very rich plot.  I also think this story is great for setting as it changes during this text and is very important.  The setting sets the mood of the text and is essential to the times and struggles addressed in this text. 

Questions to pose:

What connections can you make with this text?  Explain.

What character trait would you say best defines Esperanza?  How does she change throughout the story?  Explain? 

Additional Resources:

Teacher’s Guide: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/esperanza-rising-teachers-guide

Yo! Yes?

Raschka, C. (1993).  Yo! Yes?.  New York:  Orchard Books.

Age Level: 3-9

Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Picture Book

When I got this out of my school’s library and opened it up to see very few words, I was already excited.  This easy-to-read book uses illustrations and very few words to tell the story of a friendship that develops over a game of basketball.  It is a very short story but the illustrations do a great job showing emotions.  I cannot wait to share this story with my class. 

The illustrations are great and it is imperative that the reader build comprehension based on the interpretations of the text.  The doublespread (see below) pages create a life-like experience and allow the reader to become a part of the story.    

I would absolutely recommend this book and already plan to use it in my classroom!  I feel that children will find this book relevant as many of them have had the same experiences shared in this book. 

Ideas for teaching/comprehension strategies that can be used with this text:  I plan to use this book next year as an introduction to inferring because in this text it is essential that children use their prior knowledge and infer what is happening.  I could also use this text to show how illustrations support the plot. 

Questions to pose:

Why do you think the author used very few words to write this book?

Explain what you think is happening on this page (could select any page of the book)? 

How do you think the two boys feel in this text?  Do their feelings change throughout the story?