From Publishers Weekly
Chicano novelist Anaya pens an impassioned poem about the legendary labor leader (1927-1993) that gets bogged down in flowery metaphors. Anaya depicts Ch vez as "a wind of change" whose name is "a soft breeze to cool the campesino's sweat," and describes Ch vez's opponents as "arrogant hounds of hate" living in "a land grown fat with greed." The verses move from grief to hope to a rousing call to action, honoring Ch vez's words in a refrain ("Rise, mi gente, rise!"), and are most effective when rooted in the specific (references to the San Joaqu!n Valley and Sacramento where he organized members of the National Farm Workers Assoc., etc.). The abstract imagery unfortunately detracts from the poem's main thrust ("The future opens itself like the blossom/ That is his soul, the fruit of his labor./ He calls for us to share in the fruit"), and most of the facts are relegated to a note from the author and a chronology at the end. Threaded through with Christ imagery and references to Shakespeare and Shelley, this challenging workAdespite its picture-book formatAmay be best suited for middle and high school-age students. Enriquez's surreal collage illustrations, presented as a series of old snapshots, convey interesting details but lack subtlety: Ch vez marches through oversize heads of lettuce, followed by a crowd of boycotters; the tendrils from a cluster of grapes twine around a policeman's gun as well as his handcuffed captive's wrists. A timeline poster on the back of the dust jacket captures key events in Ch vez's life. Ages 9-12. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Gr 4-7-This poetic expression of mourning and hope is a heartfelt commentary on history and greatness. Anaya tells about the life of this crusader for justice and how his ideals shaped his life's work. Ch vez's impact on both the Hispanic community and American society is made manifest by repeated expressions of grief and loss, and by the final conclusion that, despite his death, his work goes on. Skillful use of meter and repetition give the text a mesmerizing formality that imparts the gravity of Ch vez's labor and magnitude of his loss. It is perfectly matched by Enriquez's accomplished mixed-media collages. Photographs and watercolor paintings are skillfully combined with handmade-paper backgrounds to produce arresting images. A page of text faces each illustration; each of these pages is ornamented with a small insert from the facing collage along with one line of the text in enlarged typeface, creating a poem within a poem. Comparable to Alma Flor Ada's Gathering the Sun (Lothrop, 1997) in poetic and artistic power, this fine example of elegiac verse serves both poetry and biography well, while elucidating the struggles of migrant workers in this country.-Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
