¡Mira Look!: Cesar Chavez and the Struggle for Justice

Hello faithful blog readers! I apologize for my lack of WWW post on Friday. Last week was especially busy getting ready for some distinguished and exciting talks. Today has proved much the same, but I’ve got a quick post with just a few more titles. Continuing our discussion from last week on the Latino struggle for civil rights, Katrina had some great suggestions for books to teach about famous Latino/a- Americans who have overcome adversity and championed a cause. Probably most famous of these is Cesar Chavez: the Mexican-American farm laborer whom, along with Dolores Huerta, revolutionized farming in the US. Another is Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first ever Latina US Supreme Court Justice, not to mention only one of only four females to ever serve on the Supreme Court! –Talk about overcoming traditional roles, stereotypes and fighting for civil rights, i.e. equal access! I apologize in advance for the short post, but I felt it better to get something on the table rather than nothing at all. Be on the look out for this Friday’s WWW and next Monday’s Mira Look, both of which will be my typical super-posts!

• Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows Up in the Bronx/ La juez que crecio en el Bronx by Jonah Winter. This book, appropriate for ages 4-7 is a bilingual picture book telling the story of how the first Latina US Supreme Court Justice came to be. This book teaches young kids that you don’t have to come from money in order to achieve your goals: Sotomayor had a very modest, if not poor, financial upbringing, but worked extremely hard to fight for her education and to access her life long dream. She also had the support of family and friends (another crucial lesson to parents and kids). The bilingual text is engaging, coupled with nice vibrant drawings from illustrator Edel Rodriguez.
• Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull. Appropriate for ages 6-9, Harvesting Hope is a beautiful book which traces the life story of Cesar Chavez through rich, vibrant and engaging text and illustrations (illustrated by Yuri Morales), sure to get your classroom kids inspiried and asking questions about what Si, Se Puede (originally coined by Chavez’s co-revolutionary Dolores Huerta) really means.
• Cesar Chavez: The Struggle for Justice/ La Lucha por la Justicia by Richard Griswold de Castillo is a bilingual text geared towards ages 7-10. Much like Harvesting Hope, The Struggle tells the story of Chavez’s very humble beginnings, his mothers constant support and encouragement, and his eventual battle for farm workers rights.

Hasta Luego!

–Ailesha

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