The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child

by Francisco Jimenez

Overview

After dark in a Mexican border town, a father holds open a hole in a wire fence as his wife and two small boys crawl through.

So begins life in the United States for many people every day. And so begins this collection of twelve autobiographical stories by Santa Clara University professor Francisco Jiménez, who at the age of four illegally crossed the border with his family in 1947.

"The Circuit," the story of young Panchito and his trumpet, is one of the most widely anthologized stories in Chicano literature. At long last, Jiménez offers more about the wise, sensitive little boy who has grown into a role model for subsequent generations of immigrants.

These independent but intertwined stories follow the family through their circuit, from picking cotton and strawberries to topping carrots—and back agai—over a number of years. As it moves from one labor camp to the next, the little family of four grows into ten. Impermanence and poverty define their lives. But with faith, hope, and back-breaking work, the family endures.

"A jewel of a book"—Rolando Hinojosa-Smith

"These stories are so realistic they choke the heart."—Rudolfo Anaya

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826317971
Publisher:	University of New Mexico Press
Publication date:	10/01/1997
Pages:	146
Sales rank:	47,869
Product dimensions:	4.75(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.38(d)
Lexile:	880L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

About the Author

Francisco Jiménez emigrated from Tlaquepaque, Mexico, to California, where he worked for many years in the fields with his family. He received both his master’s degree and his Ph.D. from Columbia University and is now the chairman of the Modern Languages and Literature Department at Santa Clara University, the setting of much of his newest novel, Reaching Out. He is the Pura Belpre Honor winning author of The Circuit, Breaking Through, and La Mariposa. He is also the recipient of the John Steinbeck Award. He lives with his family in Santa Clara, California.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Readers of this book will gain insight into...the lives of immigrant families." Book Links November 2007 Book Links, ALA

Editorial Reviews

The stories in this book build on each other beautifully. . . Without sentimentality or melodrama, but rather with the simple power and grace of a fine storyteller, Jimenez is able to convince us of the narrator's authenticity, his good-heartedness, and the good-heartedness of his family. . . This book challenges us as readers, whether eleven or fifty. . . In The Circuit, Jimenez has taken us inside a way of life, in all its sweetness and all its sorrow. It is a valuable book for young people, both for its artistic value and for the issues it illuminates. -- Riverbank Review

Julie Landsman

. . . [a] moving book . . . The Circuit beautifully captures the rhythms of everyday life and the dreams and aspirations of a migrant family. Jiménez writes credibly in the voice of his young protagonist. Pancho is a compelling and memorable character, at the emotional center of a book that will appeal to both adult and teenage readers.

MultiCultural Review

Jiménez's exquisite autobiographical short story ‘The Circuit' is widely anthologized. . . . Like Steinbeck's classic Grapes of Wrath, Jiménez's stories combine stark social realism with heartrending personal drama.

Booklist

There are moments of wonder . . . Francisco Jiménez is a master craftsman of words, with a simple yet crystalline style . . . The Circuit speaks intimately of migrant life in the western United States—a life that might be known by its politics or sociology but here is given a human face.

New Mexico Magazine

PreS-Gr 3-Wendy Gelsanliter's pleasant album features ten original songs and four adapted traditional songs. The traditional songs include "The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night," "Head and Shoulders," "Missy Mind Your Manners," and "Lazy Bones" (adapted from the spiritual, "Dem Dry Bones"). Among the original tunes are: a song about an "Itty Bitty Kitty in New York City" who clears the streets of rats; "Ants Wear Underpants," about dancing ants; "Lost and Found," about a child lost in a store; an ode to insects called "Butterfly Fly;" and the kidnapping of the alphabet by the outlaw letters "LMNOP." A gentle folk song style is used for most of the songs, with guitars and percussion as the primary background instrumentation. "The Morning Song" has a taste of calypso; "Pajamason" is an upbeat jazz song; and "LMNOP" has a minor country-western tune. Children will enjoy Gelsanliter's pleasant alto voice and singing along with these child-friendly tunes.-Beverly Bixler, San Antonio Public Library, TX Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

"Readers of this book will gain insight into...the lives of immigrant families." — Book Links

From the Publisher