Cesar Chavez (Milestone Series): A Hero for Everyone ANNOTATION
This biography of labor leader Cesar Chavez, whose vision of justice influenced a whole generation, brings to life the man, his work, and his legacy.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
¡Viva la causa!¡Viva César Chávez!
Up and down the San Joaquin Valley of California, and across the country, people chanted these words. Cesar Chavez, a migrant worker himself, was helping Mexican Americans work together for better wages, for better working conditions, for better lives.
No one thought they could win against the rich and powerful growers. But Cesar was out to prove them wrong -- and that he did.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Michele Wilbur
On March 31, 1927, Cesar was born and during his childhood became exposed to the stories of his hardworking grandfather, of his mother who annually gave away all her earthly possessions to the poor, and of the Depression. The Chavez family had to sell their store when Cesar was five, and then later they had to sell the family farm even though he and his brother were working too. Due to family hardships, during a five-year period they traveled up and down the Pacific coast and as a result the children attended thirty-seven different schools. This experience helped give Cesar a tender heart for the struggles and experiences of the poor. He joined the Navy but then returned to the migrant fields. With his eighth grade education and lifetime experiences, Cesar fought for the rights of his fellow Mexican-Americans. Some believe his fight cost him his death because he fasted, eventually dying in his sleep in April 1993 in Arizona. This book would be a useful tool in the classroom for its history and multi-cultural components. This entry in the "Milestone Brooks" series also includes a bibliography. 2003, Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, Ages 7 to 11.
School Library Journal
Gr 3-5-Several books have been written about the pacifistic defender of migrants' rights in this, the 10th anniversary of his death. Unfortunately, this one is written in stilted and lackluster prose. Soto focuses on Chavez's leadership in the '60s grape boycott and the strikes that were supported by Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. He paints the grim picture of "how one group of poor people was being pitted against another more desperate group," the Mexican Americans versus the government-sponsored illegal Mexican braceros, and describes how the situation was fueled by greedy and racist growers. Lohstoeter's black-and-white pencil drawings fit the somber mood of the text. The fact that the road to social equity is a tumultuous one is a message that young readers will not miss; it's too bad that the writing is so pedestrian.-John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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