Esperanza in the Shadow of the Mouse

Orlando is reading Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising for its One Book One Community selection this year. Sara Isaac, of the Orlando Sentinel, spoke to the author:

Ryan says the themes of diversity and social justice that weave through much of her work reflect her cultural and family background. One of her grandmothers was from Oklahoma and the other from Mexico. Both sides of the family were farmworkers. Her mother was born in a segregated camp like the one described in Esperanza Rising.

"I am Latino. I am a woman. I am concerned with social justice and women's rights," Ryan says. But "I don't sit down to impart a message or a moral. My goal is that the reader wants to turn that page."

There's even a fan-fiction kind of contest as part of the One Book program, which the Sentinel is sponsoring. What if Esperanza moved to Florida?  Check it out. 

Comments

[Camille]

I loved Esperanza Rising because the hospital where her mother is treated is the hospital I was born in and the hospital where my father was treated for polio.

Talk about your connections to books...

[Susan]

Neat connection. I have Esperanza here at home; I just need to read it!