The Circuit

by Francisco Jiménez

Book Overview

"'La frontera'...I heard it for the first time back in the late 1940s when Papa and Mama told me and Roberto, my older brother, that someday we would take a long trip north, cross la frontera, enter California, and leave our poverty behind." So begins this honest and powerful account of a family's journey to the fields of California -- to a life of constant moving, from strawberry fields to cotton fields, from tent cities to one-room shacks, from...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395979021
• ISBN13: 9780395979020
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.1"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Excellent insight for teachers

Our grade 6 class is currently reading all (4)-four parts of this series. The students, mostly of latin decent, like the pepperng of spanish terms and phrases throughout the text; it makes them laugh and they briefly tell stories behind their experience with the word/phrases. This series is highly recommended for teachers who are in American schools, who service students who are recent immigrants; it will provide insight into their students unique experiences and struggles.

This is a good book about a migrant family thru the eyes of a child.

This book gives you a good insight to the struggles a migrant family goes through from the perspective eyes of a child. I loved the stories, but the book was missing the last pages.

En una palabra: Autentico.

La escritura atenta de Jimenez me recuerda a las historias que me contaban mis tios y mi abuelo al viajar por Mexico. En verdad le da justicia a la escritura mexicana.

Cuentos que dignifica al campesino migrante

Este conjunto de cuentos , es un verdadero deleite para cualquier lector y especialmente para los inmigrantes latinoamericanos que llegan a los EEUU a esforzarse y donde tiene que adaptarse a una nueva realidad. Francisco Jimenez, expresa y nos revela la realidad de los trabajadores de la tierra desde la vision de su ninez , sin perder la inociencia y relatandonos la realidad. Muy estimulantes cuentos, ahora continuare con el siguiente libro de Francisco Jimenez, orgullo latino!!!

buen libro con mal fin así que solo cuatro estrillas

Es cuento de una familia méxicana que vienen a EE UU en 1950's a hallar trabajo. Es se dijo a el niño y es en parte una autobiografía. Es un libro corto de 120 paginas y facil a leer. Un buen libro para el joven pero no tiene fin feliz. Quiza el autor usted quiere a leer su segundo libro que es una continuación de este cuento.

A captivating view of migrant life from a child's eyes

This is a book that is suitable for all ages. Jimenez manages to describe his childhood in a manner that captivates the reader. I could not put the book down once I began reading. Do not think that just because these events happened long ago,that migrant families do not experience some of the same horrors today, for they do. I teach ESL to adult migrant workers and after reading this book I have an even greater respect for these hard working individuals. The farms and ranches of California could not exist as they do today without migrants who do the back breaking work in the fields. Most evenings at class my students (both men and women) come in directly from the fields, their eyes bloodshot, their hands rough and calloused, their backs bowed over. But they come eager to learn English so they can get a better job, or so they can help their children have a better education. An admirable people and Jimenez's book provides insight into their difficult working and living conditions.

A must-read

A fast read, but also a must-read for all ... especially teachers in the Southwestern part of the U.S. where we encounter so many migrant families. It really opens your eyes and helps you see a little piece of what people go through.

A Touching Eye-Opener

I bought The Circuit because I am working with the children of Mexican migrant families this summer. As I read, I imagined the kids in my class experiencing the difficulties described by Jimenez, especially the poor living conditions. Yet the stories are not written as complaints. The hopeful spirit of the struggling family members really comes through, and moved me to tears more than once. Reading The Circuit has helped me to better understand and appreciate my young migrant friends. I'm passing my copy around so that my friends and family can see why I care about those kids so much!