Description

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Poignantly told from a young boy’s perspective, the popular and award-winning memoir centered on a Mexican family working California’s fields is now a powerful graphic novel that will appeal to readers of Illegal and They Called Us Enemy. 

An honest and evocative account of a family’s journey from Mexico to the fields of California—and to a life of backbreaking work and constant household moves—as seen through the eyes of a boy who longs for education and the right to call one place home.

A popular choice for community reads, as well as school curricula and curriculum adoptions, Francisco Jiménez’s award-winning memoir, now brought to life in Celia Jacob’s beautiful and resonant artwork, is a powerful story of survival, faith, and hope. 

About the Author

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Francisco Jiménez emigrated from Tlaquepaque, Mexico, to California, where he worked for many years in the fields with his family. He received both his master’s degree and his Ph.D. from Columbia University and is now the chairman of the Modern Languages and Literature Department at Santa Clara University, the setting of much of his newest novel, Reaching Out. He is the Pura Belpre Honor winning author of The Circuit, Breaking Through, and La Mariposa. He is also the recipient of the John Steinbeck Award. He lives with his family in Santa Clara, California.

Celia Jacobs is a Portland-born illustrator who has lived in Los Angeles and New York City. Her interests include nature, music, and social issues, all of which she illustrates with sensitivity and California technicolor. She works for various brands and publications, once from an oceanographic research vessel and once from a lab in Bermuda, but mostly from the home studio she shares with a black-and-white dog named Archie.

Praise For…

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"The exquisite illustrations are warm and weathered, perfectly complementing the emotional storytelling. A poignant, beautiful story of family, endurance, and appreciation." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

 “Jiménez’s plainspoken narration resonates with dignity, humility, and timelessness. The mixed-media illustrations convey both the time period and the mood.” — Horn Book Magazine

“A moving story about family, faith, hope, and resilience through trying times and experiences. This book will interest those who enjoyed They Called Us Enemy, The ­Distance ­Between Us, and I Was Their American Dream.” — School Library Journal (starred review)