Rio Grande Stories [Paperback]

Carolyn Meyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 1994 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

The seventh-grade class at Rio Grande Middle School in Albuquerque is a unique group. Coming from schools all over the city, the students are facing new challenges and wondering how they'll fit in. When they are asked to raise money for the school, the kids decide to write and sell a book. They will all contribute something about their heritage that is personal and important. Filled with stories, traditions, and recipes, the book is a big success. Best of all, the kids learn something--about themselves and about one another.

     Includes a new author's note and a glossary.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Meyer ( Where the Broken Heart Still Beats ; White Lilacs ) imaginatively explores multicultural aspects of the American Southwest in this rich collection of linked short stories. As part of a fund-raising project, a class of 15 junior-high students attending a "magnet" school in Rio Grande decides to write and sell a volume of personal essays about life in New Mexico, past and present; each chapter here focuses on a different member of the class. The students are ethnically diverse--Native American, Hispanic, African American and Anglo--and their experiences while researching the essays prove to be as wide-ranging as their chosen topics. Rosa Gonzales plans to recount the legend of La Llorona, the wailing woman, until a run-in with the lady apparition convinces Rosa to choose a "safer" subject. Native Americans Ricky Begay and Pauline Romero turn to relatives to provide information about traditional art forms of their tribes. Others dig deep into their own families' pasts to discuss religious practices or to chronicle their favorite heroes. Meyer's mixture of contemporary voices, engrossing histories and vibrant heritages is enlightening, and will be valued not only by the target audience but by older readers as well. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7-When the principal at a school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, announces that she wants to buy a sculpture for the front lawn "that will symbolize how the Rio Grande-both the school and the river it's named for-brings us together," she challenges the students to discover creative ways to contribute. The seventh-grade Heritage Project participants decide that each of them will write a chapter for a book, which they will then sell to relatives and to the community. Their efforts are presented after an introductory chapter on each student, which describes the inspiration for what he or she writes about and tells a story in itself, highlighting the variety of cultures represented. The students- and readers-learn more about their own cultures and develop a sense of pride and appreciation for others. Characters and plot are credible, well developed, and interesting. A book with lasting appeal.
Dona Weisman, Northeast Texas Library System, Garland
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper; 1 edition (June 30, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152000666
• ISBN-13: 978-0152000660
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,554,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My first book, MISS PATCH'S LEARN-TO-SEW BOOK, published more than forty years ago, was intended to teach young girls how to knot thread, make a neat stitch, and sew simple items. The main character of my next book, CLEOPATRA CONFESSES, coming in June 2011, is a far cry from the roundish, gray-haired lady with a needle in her hand and spectacles on her nose. Since the thrill of seeing that first book in print, I've written over fifty more books, non-fiction and novels (most recently, historical fiction). In the process I've learned more about writing and a lot about history, a subject that was not my favorite when I was a young student but has become my passion--a passion I love to share with readers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars heart-warming stories, May 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Rio Grande Stories (Hardcover)

I first found this book in our local library. Being in love with New Mexico and its people, I decided to try the book even though it was aimed at pre-teens. I LOVED this book! I loved the way the author created a history for each child and then let the child translate part of his/her story into a fictionalized piece for the class project. The book does not read like traditional fiction; I had to keep checking the jacket to see if the class was real or not! I have since purchased this book for some of my daughter's teachers. All have found it an inspiration for their classrooms. I highly recommend this book for people who are fond of New Mexico, or who routinely work with pre-teens.

3.0 out of 5 stars Rio Grande Stories, February 25, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Rio Grande Stories (School & Library Binding)

This book is a great book to read because it provides tons of information on how to cook something, lots of stories that are pasted down from generation to generation, and lots of belief that are followed. It also provides a great plot. The title of the book is "Rio Grande Stories". Carolyn Meyer is the author of the book. The book was published by Gulliver Books in 1994. This book provides a great plot on the different cultures of New Mexico.

The beginning of the book is very important. This is when a class that is attending Rio Grande Middle School learns that they are going to have to find a way to earn some money to use to build a statue in front of the school. They have many ideas but none seem to spark their interests. They finally decide to write a book which they could sell. Each person decides to write a story about their culture to put in the book.

As the students try to figure out what they are going to put in the story, relatives and friends provide ideas. Jeremy's grandfather provided a friend of his that could tell the story of Hidden Jews to Jeremy. Jeremy took the story and changed it to words and put it in the book. Antonio and his father always believed that they had an ancestor by the name of Padre Martinez who was a great hero to everyone who knew him. After hearing many different points of view, Antonio, in his own words, put the story in the book. Pauline went to visit her Aunt Helen who made pots. This provided a great time for Pauline to talk to her aunt about pot making. After hearing about how to make a pot, Pauline published an article in the book about pot making. These are just a few of the many ways the students figured out what to write about.

After finally getting the book finished, the students then published it. They figured out that they could sell some in advance which could provide the money they needed to publish the book. If you paid your money in advance it would cost fifty cents less. They then had a party to commemorate the books publication. They sold many books in advance. After the party, one of the students' uncles provided the class with an idea which could sell a lot of their books. The uncle was an owner of a low rider. He said the student could sell the books out of the trunk of his low rider since many people would probably come to look at the low rider.

If you are a person that likes to read about cultural diversity, then this would be a good book for you to read. It provides tons of information about many different cultures. I think that this book would be a good book for both males and females to read. I would also recommend if you are going to read this book that you enjoy reading about different cultures because that is what this book is focused on. Overall I liked and disliked the book. It was a good story, but it was hard to follow if you didn't know what the author was doing. Every other chapter was the plot. The chapters in between were the final copies of the students' stories they provided for the book.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Rio Grande Stories, July 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Rio Grande Stories (Paperback)

OUCH!

I am a native of Albuquerque where the book takes place and I was torn between laughing uncontrollably and throwing the book in frustration. It was required reading when I was in seventh grade, but my dislike for this book comes from far more than the childish resentment you would imagine. This book was an extremely clumsy attempt to piece together the essence of the Southwest. The stories were shallow and disjointed into an endless series of pointless, fractured, narratives. The characters are superficial and embody only the innocence of a four year old. The kids at Rio Grande Middle School(a fictional place) remind me only of the group on the magic school bus. The reader learns what biscochitos and lowriders are. Then what? Nothing. If you want real Southwest literature, Hillerman is good and Anaya is the greatest. Leave this junk to petulant seventh graders.