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Land of the Cranes
From the prolific author of The Moon Within comes the heart-wrenchingly beautiful story in verse of a young Latinx girl who learns to hold on to hope and love even in the darkest of places: a family detention center for migrants and refugees.
Nine-year-old Betita knows she is a crane. Papi has told her the story, even before her family fled to Los Angeles to seek refuge from cartel wars in Mexico. The Aztecs came from a place called Aztlan, what is now the Southwest US, called the land of the cranes. They left Aztlan to establish their great city in the center of the universe-Tenochtitlan, modern-day Mexico City. It was prophesized that their people would one day return to live among the cranes in their promised land. Papi tells Betita that they are cranes that have come home.
Then one day, Betita's beloved father is arrested by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported to Mexico. Betita and her pregnant mother are left behind on their own, but soon they too are detained and must learn to survive in a family detention camp outside of Los Angeles. Even in cruel and inhumane conditions, Betita finds heart in her own poetry and in the community she and her mother find in the camp. The voices of her fellow asylum seekers fly above the hatred keeping them caged, but each day threatens to tear them down lower than they ever thought they could be. Will Betita and her family ever be whole again?
Nine-year-old Betita knows she is a crane. Papi has told her the story, even before her family fled to Los Angeles to seek refuge from cartel wars in Mexico. The Aztecs came from a place called Aztlan, what is now the Southwest US, called the land of the cranes. They left Aztlan to establish their great city in the center of the universe-Tenochtitlan, modern-day Mexico City. It was prophesized that their people would one day return to live among the cranes in their promised land. Papi tells Betita that they are cranes that have come home.
Then one day, Betita's beloved father is arrested by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported to Mexico. Betita and her pregnant mother are left behind on their own, but soon they too are detained and must learn to survive in a family detention camp outside of Los Angeles. Even in cruel and inhumane conditions, Betita finds heart in her own poetry and in the community she and her mother find in the camp. The voices of her fellow asylum seekers fly above the hatred keeping them caged, but each day threatens to tear them down lower than they ever thought they could be. Will Betita and her family ever be whole again?
Unknown Binding
First published September 15, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 539 reviews
February 26, 2022
A book in verse by the author of The Moon Within, it tells the story of a Latina girl, Betita, whose father has been separated from them due to migration issues and has been arrested. He gets deported to Mexico while her pregnant mother and she got detained and had to live in inhuman conditions ill-treated and neglected. She gets to learn how discriminated and hated they are just because they are immigrants and different from the people there.
This story is heartbreaking and left me wondering, yet again, how we still buckle under selfish reasons of our own and mistreat another human being just because they look different from us. We still cannot accept the fact that we human are different from each other and we have the same emotions of happiness and hurt; love and kindness; hope and faith.
I love how the writing shines more in verse form and highlights how Betita finds some comfort in writing poetry. Her poetry is still stuck on my heart. Short yet meaningful.
The characters are developed well. I find the story quite motivating. It gives me hope that a bad situation does not last forever.
****Some highlights:
*I love the black and white sketches in between the chapters.
*Police brutality, difficult pregnancy and loss, inhuman unsanitary living conditions
*Coming of age
*Importance of child education
*The sorry state of prison cells
This story is heartbreaking and left me wondering, yet again, how we still buckle under selfish reasons of our own and mistreat another human being just because they look different from us. We still cannot accept the fact that we human are different from each other and we have the same emotions of happiness and hurt; love and kindness; hope and faith.
I love how the writing shines more in verse form and highlights how Betita finds some comfort in writing poetry. Her poetry is still stuck on my heart. Short yet meaningful.
The characters are developed well. I find the story quite motivating. It gives me hope that a bad situation does not last forever.
****Some highlights:
*I love the black and white sketches in between the chapters.
*Police brutality, difficult pregnancy and loss, inhuman unsanitary living conditions
*Coming of age
*Importance of child education
*The sorry state of prison cells
September 26, 2020
what a beautiful book. i found the reading so cathartic. this is a gut-punching story but with so much hope.
trigger warnings: deportation, ICE, family separation, physical and emotional abuse, child abuse, recollection of sexual assault, racist and xenophobic slurs
trigger warnings: deportation, ICE, family separation, physical and emotional abuse, child abuse, recollection of sexual assault, racist and xenophobic slurs
August 12, 2019
Y'all. OMG.
Just wait till you read this beautiful, heart-wrenching book.
Just wait till you read this beautiful, heart-wrenching book.
January 23, 2021
The most emotional read
January 3, 2021
I don't know how I could ever do this book justice in a review. But I can urge you to read it. It's a beautifully written verse novel, and such a hard hitting story that needs to be told and needs to be heard.
CWs: detention, deportation, ICE, separating of family members, violence, sexual assault, blood
CWs: detention, deportation, ICE, separating of family members, violence, sexual assault, blood
March 24, 2020
This book is essential reading for every single human. It's heartbreaking and heartwarming, a hug to every immigrant, a love letter to family. I utterly adored reading Betita's story and I'm so excited for it to take flight and soar.
March 20, 2021
Young Betita is happy with her home life. She creates beautiful poetry with images to depict what she loves in life. Her father encourages her to always find the dulzura in life. But things change dramatically when Betita's father is swept up in an ICE raid and deported to Mexico. Her pregnant mother and Betitita are trying to stay positive, but things seem grim. When they make an attempt to visit her father at the border, things turn worse. Betita and her mother are taken to a detention center. This is the bulk of the story.
Betita is scared, but she tries to find the sweetness in the situation. She takes solace in creating animals and a doll made out of toilet paper. She makes a friend with a young girl that confides in her the horrors of the last detention center she was in. She takes care of her mother.
The story highlights the atrocities that take place against immigrants every day. This is not unique to the U.S. either. Nor to the current administration.
I just listened to a podcast where the author of The Deportation Machine: America's Long History of Expelling Immigrants was interviewed. I think I need to read this book to better understand the situation more clearly.
A good book to introduce the subject to young kids.
Betita is scared, but she tries to find the sweetness in the situation. She takes solace in creating animals and a doll made out of toilet paper. She makes a friend with a young girl that confides in her the horrors of the last detention center she was in. She takes care of her mother.
The story highlights the atrocities that take place against immigrants every day. This is not unique to the U.S. either. Nor to the current administration.
I just listened to a podcast where the author of The Deportation Machine: America's Long History of Expelling Immigrants was interviewed. I think I need to read this book to better understand the situation more clearly.
A good book to introduce the subject to young kids.
September 8, 2020
Betita was a profoundly moving narrator, capturing an incredibly important experience in Trump's America. The writing was so perfect, with Salazar using beautiful metaphors and searing images to capture the reader's heart. The writing especially makes this a highly recommended choice for study in book clubs or as a whole-class novel, with rich language to discuss and unpack.
October 27, 2020
*I received an e-arc from the publisher in exchange of an honest review*
I had a lump in my throat the entire time I was reading this. This book is brutal and the fact that it's told from the pov of a little girl makes it even more devastating.
March 26, 2021
Whew. This is a gorgeous, gorgeous, heartbreaking book. I listened to the audio version and marveled time and time again over the lyricism of Salazar's poetry. Part of the impact was the beautiful performance (kudos to Dani Gonzalez), but so much of it was Salazar's use of extended metaphor to build a narrative in which immigrants move through the world like cranes seeking (and seeking to build) their great city.
Because we can choose not to be confronted regularly with images depicting the horrors of deportment and incarceration at the border, it's easy to imagine it's not happening and that families aren't suffering. Salazar's novel, told from the perspective of 9-year-old Betita, is a powerful reminder that it IS happening and that suffering abounds. The novel is also a testament to the healing power of art. Betita is an artist and uses picture poems to both make sense of and deal with what's happening. Her resilience in the face of such trauma is remarkable.
This one gets 5 stars.
Because we can choose not to be confronted regularly with images depicting the horrors of deportment and incarceration at the border, it's easy to imagine it's not happening and that families aren't suffering. Salazar's novel, told from the perspective of 9-year-old Betita, is a powerful reminder that it IS happening and that suffering abounds. The novel is also a testament to the healing power of art. Betita is an artist and uses picture poems to both make sense of and deal with what's happening. Her resilience in the face of such trauma is remarkable.
This one gets 5 stars.
January 27, 2021
WOW.....5+++ Stars
December 6, 2020
A beautiful, heart-wrenching tween novel in verse that highlights the problem of undocumented immigrants in the US. Told from the point of view of 9-year-old Betita, it follows the painful story of her small family after her father is arrested by ICE and deported back to Mexico and she and her pregnant mother are sent to a detention centre where they are treated horribly and children are often separated from their parents.
"I wrote Land of the Cranes with an understanding of the long and devastating history of raids, separations, deportations, incarcerations, and deaths my community has suffered. But also, I wrote from an intimate place. I, like Betita, was an undocumented child. I was born in Mexico and brought to the United States as a baby. My childhood fear of "La Migra" (immigration enforcement) and how they could easily rip our family apart hung over me until we received our green cards, though this was not necessarily a guarantee of safety. The immigrant community in which Betita was raised in East LA, and the fears, stigmas, and prejudices her community faced are mine, too. " This is what the author writes in the postface of the book.
Land of the Cranes is a timely, poetic and necessary book and I can only hope more young people will read it.
"I wrote Land of the Cranes with an understanding of the long and devastating history of raids, separations, deportations, incarcerations, and deaths my community has suffered. But also, I wrote from an intimate place. I, like Betita, was an undocumented child. I was born in Mexico and brought to the United States as a baby. My childhood fear of "La Migra" (immigration enforcement) and how they could easily rip our family apart hung over me until we received our green cards, though this was not necessarily a guarantee of safety. The immigrant community in which Betita was raised in East LA, and the fears, stigmas, and prejudices her community faced are mine, too. " This is what the author writes in the postface of the book.
Land of the Cranes is a timely, poetic and necessary book and I can only hope more young people will read it.
July 12, 2021
Three stars because I am tiring of the Middle Grade/YA novel in episodic free verse format.
This book is heartbreaking, as is the thought that it is needed in school libraries and children's collections because so many children worldwide are survivors of similar trauma.
I won't repeat the synopsis but the ICE detention camp is carefully rendered for a 7 - 11 aged reader.
Stinking toilets, rough and racist guards, but little egregious or detailed violence. Betita isn't entirely separated from her mother - to fully render that horror would move it out of this age range.
Anne Frank haunts this book: the little girl writing poems and drawing pictures that are left behind (found by her lawyer and used to tell the detainees' version of events to the outside world ), the camps, the showers, the lice, the relentless dehumanization - not only of the children and mothers, but of the guards, as well.
For this adult reader, it asks, "How far will we go?" - because we damn well know the next step. This is not a question that should be asked of eight year olds anywhere in this world.
This book is heartbreaking, as is the thought that it is needed in school libraries and children's collections because so many children worldwide are survivors of similar trauma.
I won't repeat the synopsis but the ICE detention camp is carefully rendered for a 7 - 11 aged reader.
Stinking toilets, rough and racist guards, but little egregious or detailed violence. Betita isn't entirely separated from her mother - to fully render that horror would move it out of this age range.
Anne Frank haunts this book: the little girl writing poems and drawing pictures that are left behind (found by her lawyer and used to tell the detainees' version of events to the outside world ), the camps, the showers, the lice, the relentless dehumanization - not only of the children and mothers, but of the guards, as well.
For this adult reader, it asks, "How far will we go?" - because we damn well know the next step. This is not a question that should be asked of eight year olds anywhere in this world.
July 28, 2021
3.5 stars--This is a touching and intense junior novel, based upon real-life incidents, of a young girl and her family who are held in a detention camp on the U.S. border with Mexico.
While the bird metaphors can get a little too numerous throughout the book, it is well-written and thought-provoking. It will be difficult for any reader to brush aside the controversy regarding ICE and the militarization of borders after finishing LAND OF THE CRANES.
There are some scenes that are rather harrowing, so depending upon individual maturity level, CRANES is probably most appropriate for junior high and up. This book will definitely spark some good conversations and may create some young human rights campaigners in the process!
While the bird metaphors can get a little too numerous throughout the book, it is well-written and thought-provoking. It will be difficult for any reader to brush aside the controversy regarding ICE and the militarization of borders after finishing LAND OF THE CRANES.
There are some scenes that are rather harrowing, so depending upon individual maturity level, CRANES is probably most appropriate for junior high and up. This book will definitely spark some good conversations and may create some young human rights campaigners in the process!
December 24, 2020
Esperanza Rising can be found in book club and whole class novel baggies in most every school serving some combination of grades 3-6 across the US. It will celebrate its 22nd birthday next year. Whoa!
I’m thinking we can do better when looking for a shared text for this age range that centers the Mexican immigrant experience.
I’m thinking we can do better when looking for a shared text for this age range that centers the Mexican immigrant experience.
January 17, 2021
Wowza. This short book written in verse packs a punch. It tells the story of Betita, an undocumented girl, and her mother as they get detained at the border of the US and Mexico. Her story is so, so hard, but it’s not without hope.
October 25, 2021
*3.5
This was book was so heartbreaking and sad. Betita is such a sweet and kind girl. I usually am just meh with verse novels but this one was so sweet! The family went through some pretty realistic things and I like how it showed that in a children's book! I recommend : )!
This was book was so heartbreaking and sad. Betita is such a sweet and kind girl. I usually am just meh with verse novels but this one was so sweet! The family went through some pretty realistic things and I like how it showed that in a children's book! I recommend : )!
April 17, 2021
This was such a beautiful though-provoking book! I loved the in verse format. I love when a book can really challenge and even change your view point on your beliefs and this one did that for me. I know this is a book written for a middle grade audience, but man did it soften this adult's heart.
September 18, 2020
"A BUILDING MADE OF ICE"
"look at all migration patterns-not only of people, but of cranes and other species..."
This breathtakingly beautiful book is a must-read for everyone to attach human stories to the demonic acts of the US government imprisoning innocent migrants searching for peace.
This is the #ownvoices book we needed, instead of the white-washed 'american dirt.'
Although this is a middle grade lyrical book, it is an enjoyable and important read for both children and adults.
I highly recommend to everyone!
Buy this book from Booklandia (you'll get a signed copy): https://booklandiabox.com/products/pr...
<3 <3
"look at all migration patterns-not only of people, but of cranes and other species..."
This breathtakingly beautiful book is a must-read for everyone to attach human stories to the demonic acts of the US government imprisoning innocent migrants searching for peace.
This is the #ownvoices book we needed, instead of the white-washed 'american dirt.'
Although this is a middle grade lyrical book, it is an enjoyable and important read for both children and adults.
I highly recommend to everyone!
Buy this book from Booklandia (you'll get a signed copy): https://booklandiabox.com/products/pr...
<3 <3
September 20, 2020
Heart wrenching story-I found myself tearing up as Betita shared her personal story as an undocumented child locked up in a US Detention Center.
October 21, 2020
"Look around. You think this is justice?
You think this is humane?
...
You think we deserve to be in a concentration camp for
seeking asylum? You have NO idea what
most of us are running from. Most of us
had no choice by to try to find a better life."
(p. 194)
Wow. This is a short but poignant novel-in-verse that I hope all young people get their hands on to learn about young Betita and her pregnant mother's experiences being detained by ICE.
Perfect timing to read for everyone, really, as the presidential election is now less than two weeks away, and this book speaks to the dangers of re-electing the current monster-in-office.
In a letter to readers at the end, the author (Aida Salazar) talks about the purpose of migration--of animals and humans--that "they migrate to survive changes to their environment and for their well-being. It is humans who have drawn the lines in the sand, erected walls and borders around their territories, and deemed people 'illegal' when they cross those walls and borders." She proceeds to talk about the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy, how children have been kept in cages and treated inhumanely.
And she ends by saying, "While these injustices may seem impossible to challenge, this crisis requires we break open our humanity to try to find positive solutions. Our solutions must be steeped in respect for migrants and for their heartbreaking circumstances, and those solutions cannot be achieved by building more walls nor by acting with cruelty. I believe in our collective loving spirit, and this book, this long picture poem, is my offering de esperanza."
Coincidentally, about an hour after finishing this book, I received a NY Times Breaking News alert in my inbox that read: "The parents of 545 migrant children separated at the border by the Trump administration still haven't been found, court documents show."
The audiobook was great, but the physical book is also perfect in its easy-to-follow formatting and also includes some illustrations throughout.
Here are some (more) passages pulled from the book:
"Six raids in the last two days," Papi chews.
"Where?"
"In the factories just over the tracks.
People say there will be more.
This administration is out to get us."
"But this is a sanctuary state."
"A what, Mami?"
Papi clears his throat and
almost whispers,
"A 'sanctuary' is a place where cranes can't get caught"
Caught for doing what?
(p. 20-21)
"When Pepe raises his hand
to ask, 'What about learning math today?'
Ms. Martinez looks at him
with eyes so heavy they looked closed.
'We are learning about one another.
About the hurt in our hurts.
Sometimes, that is the most
important thing to learn.'"
(p. 48)
You think this is humane?
...
You think we deserve to be in a concentration camp for
seeking asylum? You have NO idea what
most of us are running from. Most of us
had no choice by to try to find a better life."
(p. 194)
Wow. This is a short but poignant novel-in-verse that I hope all young people get their hands on to learn about young Betita and her pregnant mother's experiences being detained by ICE.
Perfect timing to read for everyone, really, as the presidential election is now less than two weeks away, and this book speaks to the dangers of re-electing the current monster-in-office.
In a letter to readers at the end, the author (Aida Salazar) talks about the purpose of migration--of animals and humans--that "they migrate to survive changes to their environment and for their well-being. It is humans who have drawn the lines in the sand, erected walls and borders around their territories, and deemed people 'illegal' when they cross those walls and borders." She proceeds to talk about the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy, how children have been kept in cages and treated inhumanely.
And she ends by saying, "While these injustices may seem impossible to challenge, this crisis requires we break open our humanity to try to find positive solutions. Our solutions must be steeped in respect for migrants and for their heartbreaking circumstances, and those solutions cannot be achieved by building more walls nor by acting with cruelty. I believe in our collective loving spirit, and this book, this long picture poem, is my offering de esperanza."
Coincidentally, about an hour after finishing this book, I received a NY Times Breaking News alert in my inbox that read: "The parents of 545 migrant children separated at the border by the Trump administration still haven't been found, court documents show."
The audiobook was great, but the physical book is also perfect in its easy-to-follow formatting and also includes some illustrations throughout.
Here are some (more) passages pulled from the book:
"Six raids in the last two days," Papi chews.
"Where?"
"In the factories just over the tracks.
People say there will be more.
This administration is out to get us."
"But this is a sanctuary state."
"A what, Mami?"
Papi clears his throat and
almost whispers,
"A 'sanctuary' is a place where cranes can't get caught"
Caught for doing what?
(p. 20-21)
"When Pepe raises his hand
to ask, 'What about learning math today?'
Ms. Martinez looks at him
with eyes so heavy they looked closed.
'We are learning about one another.
About the hurt in our hurts.
Sometimes, that is the most
important thing to learn.'"
(p. 48)
December 24, 2020
Book Review 📚📚📚📚
After reading American Dirt earlier in the year, I was recommended to Land of the Cranes a haunting and heartbreaking story of Mexican American migration, American policy on migrants. This is a story told from the point of view of Betita, a highly imaginative Mexican American migrant girl. Her father is taken away by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported. Benita and her pregnant mother are also detained in the prison like detention centre.
At the centre they meet so many like them and others in worse situations. The story told in Betita's voice and her drawings makes it all the more painful in her innocence and absolute hope of somehow making everything work out eventually.
To imagine any human in the inhumane situation of sleeping on concrete, eating mouldy and half frozen food, lack of water and toilet access, being cooped up in a cage with only one hour of outside time. Its agonising to imagine that people are living with this reality right now.
I loved this book and I definitely learned a lot from it.
After reading American Dirt earlier in the year, I was recommended to Land of the Cranes a haunting and heartbreaking story of Mexican American migration, American policy on migrants. This is a story told from the point of view of Betita, a highly imaginative Mexican American migrant girl. Her father is taken away by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported. Benita and her pregnant mother are also detained in the prison like detention centre.
At the centre they meet so many like them and others in worse situations. The story told in Betita's voice and her drawings makes it all the more painful in her innocence and absolute hope of somehow making everything work out eventually.
To imagine any human in the inhumane situation of sleeping on concrete, eating mouldy and half frozen food, lack of water and toilet access, being cooped up in a cage with only one hour of outside time. Its agonising to imagine that people are living with this reality right now.
I loved this book and I definitely learned a lot from it.
February 23, 2021
I have to start with books written in prose pose a real problem for me when I'm rating them for a broad audience as not every person likes to read in this particular format. Despite that initial hesitation, I have to say that yes, it is beautiful, despite the horrors described. Yes, it uses imagery to make it more relatable to a child's imagination. You really get a feel for our little leading lady's hardships. You really feel the awful conditions they have to endure, and the strength of their voices when united as one. It really emphasizes how one little spark can ignite change.
**copy received for review; opinions are my own - Read for Cybil's Middle Grade Fiction, Round Two
**copy received for review; opinions are my own - Read for Cybil's Middle Grade Fiction, Round Two
April 20, 2021
I’m simply in awe at how beautiful this book was! Not only was this one of the fastest reading experiences I’ve had, it was also one of the most unforgettable...in the most positive way possible!
Pick up this GLORIOUS novel immediately 😭♥️😭♥️
Pick up this GLORIOUS novel immediately 😭♥️😭♥️
August 8, 2021
WOW! What an incredibly important, impactful, and necessary book for young people. This should be required reading in the school system. Breathtaking, horrifying, and incredibly eye-opening. I hope this book inspires young people to challenge the disgusting laws of our country.
September 8, 2022
A hard read based on the experiences of real migrant children and their families. A work written in verse of sad truths… both beautiful and bittersweet. An important book reminding us of the crisis happening every day, encouraging positive solutions and compassion for heartbreaking circumstances.
March 15, 2022
What a beautiful book. It is intended for grade school age children, but I suggest it for anyone who sees the brokenness of our immigration system.
April 17, 2021
4.5 stars
Land of the Cranes, despite being a very short novel-in-verse, was emotionally rich and beautifully complex. Heartbreaking and honest but not without hope. Because while seeing inside an ICE detention centre is grim and full of stories of trauma, it also shows us that these are not inexplicable haunted houses. They are run by ordinary people, funded by governments. And we know we can break those down. All the Betitas in these cells can be freed one day if we work toward change.
I'm sort of lost for words describing this harrowing story, but I insist that it is phenomenal and recommend to everyone. This was an instant classic to me.
content warnings for: deportation, imprisonment in detention centres, police encounters/police brutality, unsafe living conditions, racism and racial slurs, child abuse, implied sexual assault/child rape, difficult pregnancy/illness in pregnancy, hunger fasting, parent/child separation.
Land of the Cranes, despite being a very short novel-in-verse, was emotionally rich and beautifully complex. Heartbreaking and honest but not without hope. Because while seeing inside an ICE detention centre is grim and full of stories of trauma, it also shows us that these are not inexplicable haunted houses. They are run by ordinary people, funded by governments. And we know we can break those down. All the Betitas in these cells can be freed one day if we work toward change.
I'm sort of lost for words describing this harrowing story, but I insist that it is phenomenal and recommend to everyone. This was an instant classic to me.
content warnings for: deportation, imprisonment in detention centres, police encounters/police brutality, unsafe living conditions, racism and racial slurs, child abuse, implied sexual assault/child rape, difficult pregnancy/illness in pregnancy, hunger fasting, parent/child separation.
March 14, 2021
(Warning, spoilers!)
I started and finished this book in one sitting because it was just that good! When telling my roommate about the book, I said “it wrecked me.” This book brought me to tears, then made me angry, and then ignited a fire in me like never before. This story, a novel-in-verse, follows Betita, a young girl whose family came to Los Angeles, California after escaping from cartel wars in Mexico. Because I read the inside cover, I knew Betita’s father would be arrested by ICE, so the whole first part of the story I was anxiously awaiting his arrest. I knew as soon as I read “On Monday Papi must be late. It’s six p.m. and aftercare closes at six-fifteen,” that the story was just beginning. Betita so beautifully illustrates her feelings and emotions about her father being arrested and the impact it had on her mother and family friends. Then, the unthinkable happened. My heart broke into a million pieces reading about the inhumane conditions of the detention center. Reading about other women and children, separated, sick, broken, belittled, and treated horrendously brought me to tears. As I sat on the couch reading about the awful conditions of the detention center Betita, her mom, and her aunt were thrown in, I looked up ways to defund ICE and help families reunite. Betita and her mother’s loving nature helped create relationships with other women and children in the detention center, providing a little bit of hope and support. Throughout the story, Betita stays hopeful, caring, and loving, remembering what her dad said, “no matter how we struggle, remember to keep life sweet.” (page 52). Although at the end of the story Betita is reunited with her mother, father, and new sibling, the experiences they endured were gut-wrenching, leaving me a wreck.
This book was really powerful and may be too intense for some elementary schoolers, but may be appropriate for some 5th graders. If an educator chose to read this book with her class, it would be important to preface the emotional toll it may take on students. It is critical to provide students with opportunities to debrief the book and the feelings that may arise from reading it. With that being said, I think with the right group of students this could be a powerful book to supplement a unit on immigration and the rights of immigrants. Students could engage in a conversation about family history and immigration within their family, making connections to Betita’s family. This could transition to a conversation about immigrant rights and the role of ICE. I am unsure how much can be discussed about ICE and the destruction they cause for so many families in a public school — because clearly, I have quite the opinion! Another activity could be having students keep a diary/journal about their experiences and feelings to look back on throughout the school year. In the book, Betita’s stories and illustrations are used in court to support the cases of many families stuck in the detention center. Having a conversation about the power of words and documenting our experiences could be a great way to connect Betita’s experiences with my students. This activity could be especially meaningful during a period of extreme political unrest or if any other major events happen as they have been over the last year. Teaching my students about the power of words and documenting our experiences is something I hope to convey while reading this book with 5th graders.
To say this book is a WOW book is an understatement. This book made me feel so many emotions: I was upset, then I was angry, then I quickly became furious, and by the end of the story I was outraged. The story is so beautifully written and provides so much powerful imagery that allowed me to really understand (as best as one can through literature) the inhumane, cruel, experience of being in a detention center. I read this book because Dr. Harrington raved about it, and I am so glad I did. I would recommend this book to all Americans to help bring awareness to the cruelty of deportation and detention centers that was incited by the Trump administration.
I started and finished this book in one sitting because it was just that good! When telling my roommate about the book, I said “it wrecked me.” This book brought me to tears, then made me angry, and then ignited a fire in me like never before. This story, a novel-in-verse, follows Betita, a young girl whose family came to Los Angeles, California after escaping from cartel wars in Mexico. Because I read the inside cover, I knew Betita’s father would be arrested by ICE, so the whole first part of the story I was anxiously awaiting his arrest. I knew as soon as I read “On Monday Papi must be late. It’s six p.m. and aftercare closes at six-fifteen,” that the story was just beginning. Betita so beautifully illustrates her feelings and emotions about her father being arrested and the impact it had on her mother and family friends. Then, the unthinkable happened. My heart broke into a million pieces reading about the inhumane conditions of the detention center. Reading about other women and children, separated, sick, broken, belittled, and treated horrendously brought me to tears. As I sat on the couch reading about the awful conditions of the detention center Betita, her mom, and her aunt were thrown in, I looked up ways to defund ICE and help families reunite. Betita and her mother’s loving nature helped create relationships with other women and children in the detention center, providing a little bit of hope and support. Throughout the story, Betita stays hopeful, caring, and loving, remembering what her dad said, “no matter how we struggle, remember to keep life sweet.” (page 52). Although at the end of the story Betita is reunited with her mother, father, and new sibling, the experiences they endured were gut-wrenching, leaving me a wreck.
This book was really powerful and may be too intense for some elementary schoolers, but may be appropriate for some 5th graders. If an educator chose to read this book with her class, it would be important to preface the emotional toll it may take on students. It is critical to provide students with opportunities to debrief the book and the feelings that may arise from reading it. With that being said, I think with the right group of students this could be a powerful book to supplement a unit on immigration and the rights of immigrants. Students could engage in a conversation about family history and immigration within their family, making connections to Betita’s family. This could transition to a conversation about immigrant rights and the role of ICE. I am unsure how much can be discussed about ICE and the destruction they cause for so many families in a public school — because clearly, I have quite the opinion! Another activity could be having students keep a diary/journal about their experiences and feelings to look back on throughout the school year. In the book, Betita’s stories and illustrations are used in court to support the cases of many families stuck in the detention center. Having a conversation about the power of words and documenting our experiences could be a great way to connect Betita’s experiences with my students. This activity could be especially meaningful during a period of extreme political unrest or if any other major events happen as they have been over the last year. Teaching my students about the power of words and documenting our experiences is something I hope to convey while reading this book with 5th graders.
To say this book is a WOW book is an understatement. This book made me feel so many emotions: I was upset, then I was angry, then I quickly became furious, and by the end of the story I was outraged. The story is so beautifully written and provides so much powerful imagery that allowed me to really understand (as best as one can through literature) the inhumane, cruel, experience of being in a detention center. I read this book because Dr. Harrington raved about it, and I am so glad I did. I would recommend this book to all Americans to help bring awareness to the cruelty of deportation and detention centers that was incited by the Trump administration.
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