La Causa: The Migrant Farmworkers' Story (Stories of America) [Library Binding]

Dana C. De Ruiz (Author), Richard Larios (Author), Rudy Gutierrez (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Stories of America

Describes the efforts in the 1960s of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to organize migrant workers in California into a union which became the United Farm Workers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-- A crisp, clear accounting of the founding of the National Farm Workers Association in the 1960s. Brief biographical sketches of Chavez and Dolores Huerta tell of their meeting and deciding to work together to organize a union to help their fellow workers. The book ends as a first grape boycott and NFWA strike are settled. Because of this title's focus, it is easy to assume that all farm workers are Hispanic and work in the West. Libraries will want to balance their collections to avoid this misconception. James Terzian and Kathryn Cramer's Mighty Hard Road (Doubleday, 1970; o.p.) gives more information on Chavez, has photos instead of the black-and-white illustrations found here, and covers La Causa . DeRuiz's book is a useful addition to any library needing materials for short reports, additional information on Cesar Chavez, or a peek into part of the life of Dolores Huerta. Although this book is a quick, interesting read, it is not likely to be sought out for recreational purposes, and there is not enough information for other than the briefest of reports. --Jody McCoy, Casady School, Oklahoma City
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Library Binding: 92 pages
• Publisher: Steck-Vaughn (October 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811472310
• ISBN-13: 978-0811472319
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,407,336 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teaching Justice to Young Minds, May 29, 2001

By 

Darre Adwalpalker (Garden Grove, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: La Causa: The Migrant Farmworkers' Story (Steck-Vaughn Stories of America Series) (Paperback)

I used this book to as a background for a two week unit on Latin American Culture in the United States to a fourth grade class. My students were intrigued and began to think about new issues of justice. The book is artfully written so that even an adult can gain valuable insight. Ceasar Chavez' story is inspiring and challenges all to question the status quo. One chapter may be a little graphic for some young children, I skipped it in class. But overall, tremendous, and one of my Hispanic-American students said it is one of the best books ever read to them.

5.0 out of 5 stars Viva la Causa, November 29, 2009

By 

Daniel L. Berek (Flanders, NJ, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: La Causa: The Migrant Farmworkers' Story (Steck-Vaughn Stories of America Series) (Paperback)

Do you or does your child know where your food comes from? No, I do not mean in plastic wrapping in pristine supermarkets. This book tells the ever-important story of those people who do backbreaking labor, hour after hour, day after day, for basic wages (and sometimes not even that), with few benefits most of us take for granted. Although the book tells of the founding of the United Farm Workers Union, the issues of social justice facing migrant farmworkers remain as current as they did a century ago. This is a book every school child and parent should read. This book tells of the conditions that led Cesar Chaves and his wife, Delores Huerta, to organize and found the United Farm Workers in the face of considerable personal danger and against strong odds. An epilogue and afterword tells of the contribution of Chavez and the union, along with the challenges these largely invisible people face today.