Harvesting Hope
Author: Kathleen Krull
Illustrator: Yuyi Morales
Published by Scholastic in 2003
48 Pages
Multicultural
The main thing that drew me to this book was the color of
the illustrations. They are so bright and inviting. The vibrant colors that are
on the cover of Harvesting Hope make you want to open the book and see what’s
inside. Harvesting Hope is about the life of Cesar Chavez. The book starts when
Cesar was a child and the great life they had while living in Arizona. Over the
years the land begun to dry out and the drought forced them to move to
California to find work. Cesar did not like working in the fields, for it made
him feel like a slave. He soon decided he would dedicate the rest of his life
to making a change. Cesar Chavez began an organization called National Farm
Workers Association. Cesar began a march and became a very influential person.
He gave hope to many.
The colorful illustrations in Harvesting Hope were done with
acrylics, handmade stamps, and computer created cut-outs on BFK rives paper.
The illustrations span across two pages and are large in size so the reader
does not miss any of the details. When I
am looking at illustrations I always look at the characters faces to gain more
insight of how they are feeling at that point in the story. Morales did an
amazing job at the details in the characters faces. You can see their happiness
at times in the story but also the despair they feel when having to work in the
fields.
The age range for this book is 6-9 years old, and the grade
level is first through third grade. You could read this story when learning
about plants and harvesting. The students could each plant their own vegetable
to take home and grow. Harvesting Hope talks a lot about family. The students
could do a family project where they create a family poster and interview
people in their family and ask them about a memorable lesson, a story, or a
favorite saying. Cesar was very courageous in his acts. Write the word courage
on the board and have the student’s think of ways that Cesar Chavez was
courageous in the book. Engage in the discussion about how Chavez’s strategy
about fighting without violence. Harvesting Hope was awarded The
Pura Belpré Award.
