Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers

by Sarah Warren, Robert Casilla (Illustrator)

Overview

A Jane Addam’s Children’s Book Award Honor Book for Younger Children.

Dolores is a teacher, a mother, and a friend She wants to know why her students are too hungry to listen, why they don’t have shoes to wear to school.

Dolores is a warrior, an organizer, and a peacemaker. When she finds out that the farm workers in her community are poorly paid and working under dangerous conditions, she stands up for their rights.

This is the story of Dolores Huerta and the extraordinary battle she waged to ensure fair and safe work places for migrant workers. The powerful text, paired with Robert Casilla’s vibrant watercolor-and-pastel illustrations, brings Dolores’s amazing journey to life. A timeline, additional reading, articles, websites, and resources for teachers are included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761461074
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	04/01/2012
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD520L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Author Sarah Warren is a Head Start teacher and has served the young children in her community for more than ten years. Sarah received a Legacy Award from the YWCA of Minneapolis Children’s Center for her work supporting their mission: Eliminating racism/Empowering women. In 2007 she was honored as a “Cultural Caregiver” by the Minnesota Women’s Consortium. Sarah holds a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from Lesley University. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Illustrator Robert Casilla is the award-winning illustrator of more than twenty-five books for children. His most recent title is The Lunch Thief, written by Anne C. Bromley. Many of Robert’s books explore multicultural themes, including First Day in Grapes by L. King Perez, which received a Pura Belpré Honor Award for his illustrations and was a Smithsonian Magazine Notable Children’s Book. Robert holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He enjoys visiting schools to talk about his illustration process and also teaches art to young, gifted students. Robert lives in New Fairfield, Connecticut, with his wife and two children.

Editorial Reviews

…A great entry point into the ideas of justice and fairness and tells the inspiring story of an amazing woman.” —These Little Piggies Had Tofu

“Minneapolis Head Start teacher Sarah Warren describes Huerta in this picture book as a detective who followed hungry kids home to offer help, a friend to farm workers, a warrior who stands up to the bosses, an organizer, a storyteller who explains why some farms are not healthy places, a peacemaker who won’t use violence and a fortune teller who promised the bosses the workers would stop picking grapes if they were mistreated.” —Mary Ann Grossmann, St. Paul Pioneer Press

From the Publisher

Warren's debut provides a much-needed biography of a heroine in the struggle for migrant farmworkers' rights. Dolores Huerta, often relegated to a secondary character in books about César Chávez, takes center stage in this accessible story. Huerta's story begins with her realization that migrant farmworkers' conditions and pay are the root causes for her own students' poor health, hunger and lack of shoes. The author chronicles Huerta's journey by emphasizing her various roles: teacher, friend, warrior, organizer, storyteller, peacemaker, mother and woman. After Huerta fails to get the workers' bosses to improve conditions and raise wages, she organizes a strike. Eventually, her efforts help change working conditions. In watercolor with pastels, Casilla captures Huerta's strength and the resilience of Latino migrant farm works. With the notable exception of a single, stark-white offset, the text blends beautifully with the illustrations in form and substance. A detailed chronology (in which Chávez appears) and a list of books, articles and websites enrich the simple text. While the book alone will work with younger children, the backmatter makes this title an exceptional resource for both Hispanic Heritage and Woman's History months. A welcome title for children and educators alike. (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews