Esperanza Rising by Ryan, Pam Mu?oz

A timeless immigration story and beloved, award-winning modern classic, perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo and Rita Williams-Garcia.

* "Readers will be swept up." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

Esperanza thought she'd always live a privileged life on her family's ranch in Mexico. She'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home filled with servants, and Mama, Papa, and Abuelita to care for her. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard work, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When Mama gets sick and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances--because Mama's life, and her own, depend on it.

Author: Pam Mu?oz Ryan
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: 05/01/2002
Pages: 262
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.45lbs
Size: 7.50h x 5.10w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780439120425
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.3
Point Value: 6
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 44286 / Esperanza Rising

Award: Golden Sower Award - Nominee
Award: Sunshine State Young Reader's Award - Nominee
Award: Sunshine State Young Reader's Award - Nominee

Review Citation(s):
PW Notes and Reprints 07/01/2002 pg. 82
Booksense '76 Childrens Fall02 08/01/2002 pg. 1
Kliatt 11/01/2002 pg. 20
Publishers Weekly 07/08/2002
Entertainment Weekly 11/14/2014 pg. 111

About the Author
Pam Muñoz Ryan is the recipient the NEA's Human and Civil Rights Award, the PEN America Award, and the 2024 Children's Literature Legacy Award for her body of work. She was the 2018 U.S. nominee for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award. She received a Newbery Honor Medal and the Kirkus Prize for her New York Times bestselling novel, Echo. Her other celebrated novels, Esperanza Rising, The Dreamer, Riding Freedom, Becoming Naomi Léon, Paint the Wind, and Mañanaland, have received countless accolades, among them the Pura Belpré Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and the Américas Award. Her acclaimed picture books include Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride and the Sibert Honor book When Marian Sang, both illustrated by Brian Selznick, Mice and Beans illustrated by Joe Cepeda, and Tony Baloney illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham, as well as a beginning reader series featuring Tony Baloney. Ryan lives near San Diego, California, with her family.