El Sueno Pegado en la Pared de Blanca/The Dream On Blanca's Wall: Poemas en Ingles y Espanol/Poems In English And Spanish [Paperback]

Jane Medina (Author), Robert Casilla (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-Similar in tone to Medina's My Name Is Jorge: On Both Sides of the River (Wordsong, 1999), this free-verse collection delineates the life of Blanca, a sixth grader who, encouraged by her teachers, aspires to become an educator herself. Her dreams are embodied in a picture she drew in second grade of a young, brown teacher who looks like her. Now the tape is yellow and curling, and in the face of challenges from life, Blanca feels that her dream, too, is curling and cracked. The 24 poems outline the obstacles she faces: poverty, non-English-speaking parents, long absences from school to return to Mexico, and a much-loved but underachieving older brother who belittles her ambitions. They also address the sources of strength in her life: a loving family, concerned teachers, and a supportive neighborhood. The poems, spare and understated, are well matched by Casilla's photographic black-and-white pencil drawings. The Spanish translation is literal and as unadorned as the English, creating a starkly realistic picture of life for many children of migrant families. Excellent as a teaching tool, both as a pattern for writing verse and as a discussion starter, this title can be balanced by sunnier poetry on Chicano life, such as Francisco X. Alarcón's Laughing Tomatoes/Jitomates risuenos (1997) and Iguanas in the Snow/Iguanas en la nieve (2001, both Children's Book Press).
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Wordsong; Bilingual edition (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159078264X
• ISBN-13: 978-1590782644
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,466,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Spanish

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