Module 6/SLIS 5420/July 13-19

HARVESTING HOPE

by

Kathleen Krull

Bibliography

Krull, Kathleen. Harvesting Hope. Harcourt Children's Books, 2003. ISBN: 0152014373

Summary

Harvesting Hope is an illustrated biography of Cesar Chavez, a Mexican American, civil rights activist, who worked peacefully and tirelessly as the voice for migrant farm workers. Because of his leadership, once terrible working conditions were improved. He is credited with co-founding the American Farm Workers and his face became the face of a people struggling with deplorable quality of conditions for workers, imposed by the growers for whom they toiled. Harvesting Hope is a richly illustrated chronology of Chavez's life from boyhood through the events of a worker's protest, organized by Chavez, in 1965. The book is simply written without the weight of heavy information. This straightforward interpretation of the man who is credited with energizing the effort to improve the state of conditions and salary for farm workers, as well as civil rights, has a place of importance among the biographies of leaders who make/made a difference.

A Page from My Book

I would recommend adding Harvesting Hope to your library shelves. It is a beautifully illustrated picture book about an important figure in U.S. history. The attractive, vibrant colors are appealing and it is a book that would appeal to older students as well as elementary-age students. The addition of this book to a Texas library would be especially meaningful to those students who share a similar heritage. It is a deliverance of hope that with determination and hard work dreams of a better life can be realized. Harvesting Hope also effectively communicates that consideration of others improves their lives with the potential of enriching and advancing the lives of many more - a ripple affect - with positive consequences for generations to come.

Reviews/Awards

* Krull, author of the excellent Lives Of series and Wilma Unlimited (rev. 9/96), depicts Chavez's early life on his family's ranch in Arizona as almost idyllic. Then in 1937, when he was ten, drought forced his family to give up the ranch and move to California. Migrant work was brutal, the conditions atrocious, and the pay minimal. Showing how Chavez developed into an advocate and spokesman, Krull focuses on the march he led from Delano to Sacramento as part of a grape-pickers strike; she offers vivid details of the over-three-hundred-mile march: "Cesar developed painful blisters right away. He and many others had blood seeping out of their shoes." The brief text creates a remarkably complex view of Chavez--his experiences and feelings. Krull's empathetic words are well paired with artist Yuyi Morales's mixed-media acrylic paintings, which are suffused with a variety of emotions, especially fear and sorrow. The pictures glow with intense shades of gold, green, pink, and orange, and the farm landscapes show delicately detailed strawberries and grapes. One particularly effective spread portrays the imposing portico of the state capitol dominating the small figures below, reflecting Chavez's struggle against great power. An author's note at the end fills in more about Chavez's later life and work (though there are no sources). This is an excellent choice for furthering children's understanding of racism, of nonviolent protest, and of the lives of workers before unions. Most of all, it is a powerfully moving tribute to an important person in U.S. history. Horn Book, July/August, 2003

* Cesar Chavez, like his heroes Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, believed in non-violent change. He fought ceaselessly for the rights of migrant farm workers to have a decent living conditions and a living wage. Krull does not offer a birth-to-death biography, instead focusing on the influences of his early years, the organization of the National Farm Workers Association, and the first contract with the grape growers. She portrays Chavez as a quiet, patient, strong-willed man who believed implicitly in his "causa" and worked tirelessly for his people. She presents additional events in his life and the circumstances of his death in an author's note. Morales uses bright acrylic colors that flow across the pages, mirroring the constant movement in Chavez's life. The overall look of the work is reminiscent of a Diego Rivera mural. Krull and Morales introduce a long-neglected figure from recent history to a new audience in an informative, eye-catching manner. A notable achievement. (Biography. 8-12) Kirkus Review, July 1, 2003

* ALA Notable Children's Book

* Pura Belpre Honor Book Illustrator

* Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List, 2004-2005

Suggested Activities

Use Harvesting Hope to introduce students to the author Francisco Jimenez and make a literature connection to novels by Jimenez, The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child and Breaking Through. Although classified as fiction, The Circuit is based on Jimenez' life. Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, in addition to the others, would be another book that could be highlighted in a book talk.