The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child [Paperback]

Francisco Jiménez (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

After dark in a Mexican border town, a father holds open a hole in a wire fence as his wife and two small boys crawl through.

So begins life in the United States for many people every day. And so begins this collection of twelve autobiographical stories by Santa Clara University professor Francisco Jim�nez, who at the age of four illegally crossed the border with his family in 1947.

"The Circuit," the story of young Panchito and his trumpet, is one of the most widely anthologized stories in Chicano literature. At long last, Jim�nez offers more about the wise, sensitive little boy who has grown into a role model for subsequent generations of immigrants.

These independent but intertwined stories follow the family through their circuit, from picking cotton and strawberries to topping carrots--and back agai--over a number of years. As it moves from one labor camp to the next, the little family of four grows into ten. Impermanence and poverty define their lives. But with faith, hope, and back-breaking work, the family endures.

"A jewel of a book"--Rolando Hinojosa-Smith

"These stories are so realistic they choke the heart."--Rudolfo Anaya

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Grade 4-8-Jim?nez has created a moving autobiography that some critics have compared to John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. The story, originally published in English as The Circuit, begins in Mexico when the author is very young and his parents inform him that they are going on a very long trip to "El Norte." What follows is a series of stories of the family's unending migration from one farm to another as they search for the next harvesting job. Each story is told from the point of view of the author as a young child. The simple and direct narrative stays true to this perspective, never falling into moralistic or clich?d patterns. The backbreaking work and the soul-crushing effect of the endless packing and moving are portrayed through a child's dismay at having to leave a school where he has just gotten comfortable or, worse, having to miss several months of a school year in order to work. Panchito's desire to help his family by working in the fields often clashes with his academic yearning. In this case, as in the case of many Mexican migrant farm workers, the American dream never comes to fruition. Lifting the story up from the mundane, Jim?nez deftly portrays the strong bonds of love that hold this family together. An afterword recorded by the author gives even more background on his family. Vargas's narration offers an authentic and strong Mexican voice. Highly recommended for all collections and bookstores. MOB
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-Francisco Jimenez was born in Mexico, entered California illegally as a very young child, and spent his boyhood alternating between migrant farm work and the classroom. This collection of autobiographical short stories was written years later, when Jimenez had become an established professor at Santa Clara University (CA), but they give immediate access to the feelings of the growing boy. Adrian Vargas reads in a lightly accented English, offering a voice that is evidently that of the full grown man remembering, rather than that of the youth he remembers. Each story is simple, direct, and redolent with the smells of the earth, the sounds of the ever-changing home with its growing number of siblings, and the amazing experiences each new schoolroom offers. The frustrations range from those specific to poverty and migrancy, including the inability to follow up on promises made by a good teacher because the family moves on the day the offer of trumpet lessons has been proffered, through the universal experience of an older brother saddled with an ignorant younger sibling who insensitively feeds his prized penny collection into the grocery store's gumball machine. Jimenez and Vargas both maintain a leisurely pace appropriate to storytelling that can reach a wide audience, giving the images constructed from words time to bloom in the audience's mind before wrapping each tale in a tight, often surprising, close. Highly recommended for both pleasure listening and for classroom use and discussion.

Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 134 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press; 1st edition (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826317979
• ISBN-13: 978-0826317971
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Multicultural Stories > Hispanic & Latino
  • #9 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Hispanic
  • #27 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Short Story Collections

More About the Author

Francisco Jiménez emigrated from Tlaquepaque, Mexico, to California, where he worked for many years in the fields with his family. He received both his master's degree and his Ph.D. from Columbia University and is now chairman of the Modern Languages and Literature Department at Santa Clara University, the setting of much of Reaching Out. He is the award-winning author of The Circuit, Breaking Through, La Mariposa, and his newest novel, Reaching Out. He lives in Santa Clara, California, with his family

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A captivating view of migrant life from a child's eyes, August 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child (Paperback)

This is a book that is suitable for all ages. Jimenez manages to describe his childhood in a manner that captivates the reader. I could not put the book down once I began reading. Do not think that just because these events happened long ago,that migrant families do not experience some of the same horrors today, for they do. I teach ESL to adult migrant workers and after reading this book I have an even greater respect for these hard working individuals. The farms and ranches of California could not exist as they do today without migrants who do the back breaking work in the fields. Most evenings at class my students (both men and women) come in directly from the fields, their eyes bloodshot, their hands rough and calloused, their backs bowed over. But they come eager to learn English so they can get a better job, or so they can help their children have a better education. An admirable people and Jimenez's book provides insight into their difficult working and living conditions.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a "must read.", December 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child (Paperback)

The short stories in this collection bear
compelling witness to the strength and
vitality of the human spirit under the most
inhumane circumstances. This inspiring
tribute to the humanity of poor migrant
workers tells the right story at the right
time in this country, when immigrants,
documented or not, are shamelessly
scapegoated by politicians of every stripe.

The powerful impact of these deceptively
simple stories may be credited to their
autobiographical character, the purity of
the prose, and the strength of the images.

In reading this book you will experience the
untapped wealth of humanity that works our
fields, sews our clothes, waits our tables.
You will also be completely engaged by twelve
wonderful stories.

For me, Dr. Jimenez' "Christmas Gift" tops
O. Henry's "Gift of the Magi" for the best
Christmas story ever -- and it's the perfect
size for a stocking stuffer!

Steve Privett,S.J.[[e-mail]] Santa Clara, California

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unparalleled Compassion, September 10, 2003

By 

Z. Holmboe "Biologist and Christian" (Beaverton, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child (Paperback)

Francisco Jimenez doesn't preach, he doesn't tell, he doesn't demand that you change your views about the migrant population in the US; he does tell a story of a migrant family with more tenderness than I have read anywhere. He doesn't rely on dramatic anecdotes to relay his point, but rather allows the realistic simplicity of the stories to speak for themselves. Doing so makes the stories all the more meaninful, as the reader never feels like he is being told exagerated accounts of a migrant child's life.