Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (sibling fights and pranks, also guard violence at a prison)
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL
APPEALS TO: MANY
10yo Pedro (who is about 13 by the end of the book) is back from Mexico with his family (8 brothers and sisters) Their restaurant has been damaged by an earthquake and so the family has moved to California where they are sharecroppers, picking strawberries. Everyone helps, all hands are needed to make ends meet. But when the oldest brother gets a job at a lumberyard, Pedro starts making a plan to get out of working too - he wants to draw (and watch cartoons). But when a friend at school encourages Pedro to join the band, he rethinks his plan. Now he wants to plan the trombone!
Pedro Martin is so funny, and this series is delightful. I love how he shows the sibling interactions, funny names for the outhouse and the way they work in the fields. I also loved how he really showed the plight of the share croppers, the difficulty making a profit and a danger experienced by undocumented people (in 1977) who were desperate for work so they could send money home. A great companion which can stand alone to Mexikid.
The family is Mexican with some of the children first generation American
Lisa Librarian
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