Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez (1BK) #9
Author: Kathleen Krull
Illustrator: Yuyi Morales

Krull, Kathleen. ( ). The story of cesar chavez.

Awards: Christopher Award, Jane Adams Children’s Book

Grade Level: 2-6

Author’s Credibility: On the jacket, it said that Krull is known for her innovative biographies for young readers.

Illustrations: Morales visited the fields where Cesar lived and worked and he also traveled along the route of his 1965 march. He used beautiful acrylic pictures opposite a page of text.

Standards: Social Studies (Civics, History, Economics) Describe diversity in the United States and identify its benefits (cultural traditions and practices, variety of viewpoints, new ideas, etc)

Summary: A biography of Cesar Chavez and his work with the improving the working conditions for migrant workers. Cesar and his family enjoyed living in Arizona until a drought came and dried up everything in their neighborhood. Without money and with no other means to get money, Cesar’s family was forced to join the other migrant families in California to work on someone else’s farms. The landowners made the migrant families work long hours in unsafe environments. Times were hard for them until Cesar finally demanded better working conditions by leading a 340-mile peaceful march through California.

Design: Jacket cover had a glossy finish to it. The end pages was in earth tones probably because the illustrator like using those colors. The book has some Spanish words and author puts the English meaning right besides it. The book had easy to read text that focused on one major character.

Access Features: This book did not have many access features, just Acknowledgment and Author’s Note. In the author’s note, Krull gave some good background information on Cesar Chavez.

Related Books: Cesar Chavez: A Hero for Everyone, Gary Soto; Voices From the Fields: Children of Migrant Farm Workers Tell Their Stories, Beth Atkin

Response: I liked this book because Cesar Chavez reminded me of Dr. King when he decided to fight the landowners through nonviolence. He also organized a peaceful march through California, which made me also think of the march Dr. King and others tried to cross over that bridge in Alabama. I would use this book to compare and contrast how Dr. King and Cesar Chavez fought for civil rights.