Atkin, S. Beth. (2000). Voices from the Fields: Children of Migrant Farmworkers Tell Their Stories. Boston: Little Brown, 96 pp.

Grade Level: 6-12

Genre: nonfiction

Summary and Critique

Powerful black and white photographs lend drama to this collection of interviews and poems, which tell the stories of Mexican-American children and their migrant families. Foreword by author Francisco Jimenez introduces the painful reality that migrant life today is as oppressive as it was thirty years ago; we continually neglect to consider the hands that carry our fruits and vegetables from the earth. The voices of the children in this book convey the hope, pride, fear, and struggles that make them unique from, and at the same time similar to, their American peers. This simple yet powerful book shines light on the weathered hands of migrant children reaching out for better opportunities, better lives.

Awards

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

Booklist Editor's Choice

Hungry Mind Review Book of Distinction

Themes/Topics

Families

Challenges and Triumphs

Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

Generations

Author/Illustrator Information

S. Beth Atkin is a photographer and writer with editorial and commercial work in nationally-circulated publications. She has researched this book in Salinas Valley, CA at educational programs and migrant children's homes and schools. When not writing, Atkin travels the country lecturing on farm-workers issues.

For more information on S. Beth Atkin:

http://www.twbookmark.com/authors/44/836/ Brief biographical information.

Media Connections

Movies

Chicano! History of the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement (1996) A documentary covering the Mexican-American community's fight for equal rights in America.

My Family, Mi Familia (1995) Chronicles three generations of a Mexican-American family in LA.

...And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him (1995) Critically acclaimed film adaptation of 1971 novella ...y no se le tragó la tierra, an autobiography by Tomas Rivera. Moving story of 12-year-old son of Mexican-American migrant family on their annual trek from Texas through the Midwest during harvest season in 1940's and '50s.

Online Resources

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tshome.html Voices from the Dust Bowl: The Migrant Worker Collection is an outstanding multimedia, online presentation of life in migrant work camps in California in 1940 and 1941. Contains audio recordings, photographs, narratives, publications, and ephemera from the National Digital Library.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fsaSubjects07.html Subject index of links to hundreds of black and white photographs of migrant camps in America (see"migrant camps" entries) from 1935-1945. From American Memory Collection, Library of Congress.

http://www.agclassroom.org/teachres/index.htm Teacher Resources from USDA's"Agriculture in the Classroom" program. Lesson plans promote awareness of the role of agriculture in economy and society.

http://www.ufw.org/ United Farm Workers home page includes current news and action items, as well as UFW history (with biographies of Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and speeches by Cesar Chavez).

http://dewey.chs.chico.k12.ca.us/ag.html Links to agriculture-related web sites, including agricultural organizations, market reports, and other highly detailed industry information on crops and animal husbandry.

http://www.albany.edu/jmmh/vol3/chicano/chicano.html Information on the documentary Chicano! History of the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement.

Related Texts

Atkin, S. Beth. (1996). Voices from the Streets: Young Former Gang Members Tell Their Stories. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co. 144 pp. A variety of former gang members discuss their lives as former gang members.

Jimenez, Francisco. (1997). The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press. 134 pp. An autobiographical account of a child from a family of migrant farm workers.

Soto, Gary. (1995). Canto Familiar. San Diego: Harcourt Brace. Ill. Annika Nelson. 75 pp. Twenty-five poems beautifully illustrated poems celebrating a Mexican-American childhood.

Bunting, Eve. (1996). Going Home. New York: Harper Collins. Ill. David Diaz. 32 pp. Colorful story of a Mexican-American family of farm laborers who return to Mexico for the holidays.

Jimenez, Francisco. (1998). La Mariposa. Ill. Simon Silva. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 79pp. For younger audiences. Autobiographical story of a migrant Mexican-American boy's experience in first grade in the United States. 1999 Parents'Choice Recommendation.

Altman, Linda Jacobs. (1994). Migrant Farm Workers: The Temporary People. New York: Franklin Watts. 112pp. An examination of the economic history of using migrant workers in agriculture.

Steinbeck, John. (1939). The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Viking. 619 pp. A family moves from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression.

Teaching Ideas

(1) "Every Picture Tells a Story" Students browse migrant photos online at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fsaSubjects07.html (American Memory Collection) or in Voices from the Fields. Students list details they see in a selected photo and interpret the details in a story, poem, or detailed description of the photo that answers the question,"How do people adjust to displacement?" Culminate project by projecting photos for whole class to see while students read aloud accompanying final drafts. Alternatively, students can analyze text of migrant songs and present this to class (songs with text also available from American Memory Collection). (source: Grace Voss )

(2) "Relating to the Migrant Workers" Students do quick writes with prompts including:"Have you ever moved to a new state, a new town, or started at a new school? What was it like?" or "Make a list of at least three times in your life when you felt different or "out of place." (Voss)

(3) "Labor Issues" In the spirit of Cesar Chavez, students conduct research on a current labor issue. Research product choices include an informed letter of support for a particular cause, biographical information on a cause leader, or a summary of recent events or legislation related to the cause.

(Review written by Audra K. Roach and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)