Migrant Worker

by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith, Lawrence Migdale (Photographer)

The story of a migrant farmer's life is told from the perspective of eleven-year-old Ricky, who spends his summer months far from home picking the harvest, sometimes under dangerous conditions, and describes his admiration for Ce+a7sar Cha+a7vez.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1996

Reviews

[Rebeca Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers are introduced to a boy named Ricky, who's an eleven-year-old migrant worker like the rest of his family. When he was younger, he knew the "rountine" that his family follows when he travels with his family. Even though he's a kid, the family still relies on him and the rest of his siblings to help out in the house and out in the field. At age eleven, he was able to work legally-with the permission of his parents- to pick produce and help out in these farms. In the hardships of manual labor, Ricky feels lucky that he's able to go to school and be with his family- whereas other kids aren't so lucky. Ricky's father works in Chicago during the winter months, but he does send money home back home. Ricky continues to get his education in a Texas school and has a principal who understands migrant student experiences since he was one in the past. In this book, Ricky's profile is the main priority of the story but it also follows other students in the same scenerio. There's also a mini-lesson of the contributions made by Cesar Chavez, who was able to make some improvements to working conditions to migrants all in the United States.

In Hoyt-Goldsmith's writing, the story of Ricky and migrant families is somewhat bland to outside readers. There are relevant pictures that document the life that Ricky experiences and sees, so this can create connections to students in the same situation. The Spanish used is very easy with some ways to properly pronounce and define some words by the readers following the story. This book would be a great way to introduce immigration within the United States, but it also shows empathy to students when it comes to knowing kids working in fields. As a first-generation student, I was able to relate to some of the kids experiences and taught at a young age to do these "odd jobs." There are laws to protect child labor now, but there are some exceptions when it comes to surviving and trying to live in a new country.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is filled with information from the point of view of a young boy who is a migrant worker from the Rio Grande Valley. There is an overwhelming amount of text per page, so I would probably use this book as a lesson that we spread out over many days. The book is separated into sections that could allow for us to easily pause and discuss different parts of the book. There is also a glossary in the back that contains a lot of great vocabulary words, some in Spanish, some in English. There are also great photographs on each page to help the students get a image in their head to match the words being read aloud, which will allow them to really understand the content.