Rosa Takes a Chance: Mexican Immigrants in the Dust Bowl Years (1935)

Sisters in Time #21

by Susan Martins Miller

Time Period:  1934 - 1935  Rosa Sanchez's parents took a chance on their future by emigrating from Mexico to the United States. Now, the ten-year-old takes a chance of her own. She wants to go to school! That's not easy for an immigrant girl in the Texas Panhandle of 1935-and it's even more challenging when the terrible, black-clouded storms of the "Dust Bowl" strike. Can Rosa hold to her God-given dream of a good education while her family battles for survival on the windswept plains? This novel for eight- to twelve-year-old girls features historical events to teach compelling lessons in American history and the Christian faith.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian, Hispanic, Middle Grade, Christian Fiction

140 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

Reviews

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pre Teens- Three Stars
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
I don’t feel like I’ve read many books set in the Dust Bowl years, so this one was quite interesting to learn about. I loved Rosa’s passion for learning and how determined she was about school and just learning in general.


{{Official Content Review to Come.}}

[Ille · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Sentence: "If I grow up to be a teacher, I will be a real teacher. Rosa Sanchez spoke aloud, but no one listened.

'Rosa Takes A Chance' by Susan Martins Miller is another great book in the Sisters In Time series, which are historical and Christian fiction books for 8 to 12 year old girls.
This book is about 11-year-old Rosa Sanchez. Although she was born in the USA, the rest of her family is Mexican. She is the only person in her family who speaks English and wants a better education than what the school for Mexican children offers...
A very inspiring book, and I highly recommend it.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give it 3 stars but my kids liked it more than me. It does deserve the 4th star for making the dust bowl experience so real and sparking conversation with my kids about that time in history.

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It had such a beautiful story. I definitely have to read it again soon!

[Danielle Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read and Christian theme. This will be a great book to read with the kids when we get to learning about the dust bowl.