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Crossing over the border is a dangerous business...
America is not the land of opportunity they had hoped. A new language, hard labor, and the constant threat of la migra -- the immigration police--make every day a difficult challenge. But for feisty Lupita, there is always hope for a better manana -- tomorrow.
Patricia Beatty was born in Portland, Oregon, and was a longtime resident of southern California. After graduating from college, she taught high school English and history, and later held various positions as a science and technical librarian and also as a children's librarian. She taught Writing Fiction for Children at several branches of the University of California.
Patricia Beatty is the author of many popular and award-winning children's books, including such NCSS Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies as Eight Mules from Monterey; Behave Yourself, Bethany Brant; Turn Homeward, Hannalee; Be Ever Hopeful, Hannalee; and Jayhawker. Her novel Lupita MaÑana is a Jane Addams Children's Book Award honor book, and Charley Skedaddle won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
triump in a personal way,
By A Customer
This review is from: Lupita Manana (Paperback)
Lupita Manana is an interesting and revealing tale of the times: of the desperation of a people hungry for the promise of employment to provide simple sustenance for their lives. The traditional beckoning call of the United States to "give us your tired, your hungry, your poor..." is rebutted by the imigration policy and officials which seek to ferret out unregistered Mexicans working illegally in the states and adhere to a policy of repatriation. Patricia Beatty has crafted a narrative, replete with tragedy and sadness, as well as humor and joy. Fundamental to the story is the main character of Lupita, whose resiliency of spirit places her among that select group of characters called "survivors". Mourning the death of their Father, Lupita and her brother, Salvador, with the blessing of their Mother, set their resolve to cross the border from Mexico into the United States to earn money to support their family. Leaving their insular home, with the hope of finding work in the north, in quick succession, Lupita and Salvador encounter barrier after barrier to their determined intention. At first they fail miserably. Subjected to extraordinary pressures, hounded by "la migra", Lupita's indominable spirit ultimately leads to their prevailing. But their vision of life in the United States is contrasted by the harsh reality of menial chores and farm labor. Upper intermediate readers will be captured by the rapid pace of the drama as Lupita and her brother make their way from their small fishing village in the Baja Peninsula of Mexico to the sanctuary of their Aunt Consuelo's home in Indio, California. The prejudicial injustices Lupita and her brother encounter will likely spur analogous stories from students who, because of either age or ethnic backround, have experienced similar situations in which they were humiliated. Settled into a routine of life in the United States, Salvador's eager acceptance and attempts at attaching himself to the predominate trends in U.S. culture -- his seeming rejection of his foreign family and ethnic backround -- may likely perplex and exasperate some readers. Lupita Manana seizes the reader into the velocity of the story of hope, disillusionment, and conversion. Credibility is based upon Ms. Beatty's superb characterization of the sundry mix of personalities, and detailed recounts of the rigors of their lives as they endeavor to triumph each in a personal way.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
lupita mañana,
By Mike Tyson (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lupita Manana (Harper Trophy Books) (Paperback)
Lupita Mañana Lupita Mañana is a very good book, and I recommend you to read it, because the deeper you get into the story you feel that it is becoming very interesting.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Simplistic,
By
This review is from: Lupita Manana (Harper Trophy Books) (Paperback)
It is an easy read with a fast paced plot, and accesable to upper elementary students. It touches on some very real issues facing the United States today. Still, I feel the book is lacking in many areas.
The dialog is unsuccesful at conveying linguistic paterns of Mexican Spanish speakers. They seem to say "sí" to just about everything. The dialog in English is equally problematic because her characters have not embraced the use of contractions. The result sounds stilted and highly uncharacteristic of a person speaking English with a Mexican accent. If children read only one book about the journey of undocumented immigrants I think they will get a very narrow perspective from this book. Very few Mexican immigrants come from Baja California and for most the journey is much more arduos and deadly. Would I recommend the book to children in a classroom? no.
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