No comments about The Plays of Josefina Niggli: Recovered Landmarks of Latino Literature.

1 comments about Scott Gomez: Open Up The Ice.

1. I'm writing this on behalf of my 6 year old son who is a New Jersey Devils fan and admirer of Scott Gomez. The book is informative and well written. We find out how old Scott was when he took up hockey(age 5)and how Scott worked his way up the league and eventually into the NHL. Scott Gomez is a genuine roll model for young people and especially young Hispanics who don't think other Hispanics played hockey(we are stereotypicaly boxers who don't know how to do anything else). I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the sport or is a new fan of hockey. What is really warm about this is how close Scott is to his dad, Carlos, and what a tight knit family they are.

No comments about A Chicano in China.

1 comments about Begoso Cabin: A Pecos Country Retreat.

1. Begoso Cabin is the account of a woman's experiences living in a remote canyon in the mountains of northern New Mexico. The author has described the land, the animals, the people in vivid detail. The book is replete with pleasing morsels of historical research beginning with the Pecos Indians who once hunted the area, the region's importance as the entry into Mexican territory on the Santa Fe Trail, the takeover of the Southwest by the United States, the legal hassles over the old Spanish land grant on which the Begoso cabin is located, to today's village customs and economy. Begoso Cabin partakes of a genre of women's writing that is characterized by such authors as Annie Dillard, Dorothy Gilman, Gretel Ehrlach and others who have retreated to the wilds to write their stories. Begoso Cabin is a good read, full of historical, and often humorous, anecdotes, sensitve landscape description, and sociological commentary on village life rendered in a vibrant and poetic prose.

No comments about Mi Escuela /my School (Somos Latinos / We Are Latinos).

5 comments about Farmworker's Daughter: Growing Up Mexican in America.

1. These biographical vignettes surely represent the experiences of many immigrants to the US. But they also describe the problems faced by most families as they struggle with the challenges of personal differences, adolescence, bad luck, and poor decisions. As a result it failed to inspire either my sympathy for the characters or a sense of need for immigration and/or social reform. Sadly, it is boring. The style is not professional; it is not even "good writing". I expected a story of hope and inspiration or a call to activism but was disappointed. I regret my reaction. Perhaps it would have been different had the story been told by a seasoned author.



2. Teens will be moved and inspired by Rose Castillo Guilbault's memoir, "Farmworker's Daughter: Growing Up Mexican in America" (Heyday Books, $11.95 paperback). The chapters in this richly detailed book arose from a series of essays first published in the San Francisco Chronicle.
   Guilbault is best known as an award-winning broadcast and print journalist who now is vice president of corporate affairs at the Automobile Association of America of Northern California. Her memoir recounts the intellectual, cultural and emotional trek from her youth in the border town of Nogales, Mexico, to growing up in California's Salinas Valley. Guilbault fights bigotry, economic hardship and sexism. She eventually finds success in the world of words -- although the phrase "I can't" has no place in her vocabulary. [This review first appeared in the El Paso Times.]



3. We haven't read the book yet, but our eleven-year-old, grand daughter did. She liked it so much, that she patterned her school report about her grandmother on it.



4. Rose Castillo Guilbault's memoir is a great addition to the narrow field of autobiographies by Mexican American women! Well written and honest, this memoir will help readers, teens and adults, experience what it was like to grow up as a working class Mexican American girl in Arizona and California in the 1950's and 60's. In spite of our cultural differences, after reading this book I feel a kinship to this author. I believe that Rose and I could have been friends if we had gone to school together. I look forward to her next memoir because I sense there is much more of her life story that needs to be told.



5. The story of Rosela begins in Mexico, in a dry land where people need much and many times do not have enough. She and her mother take the journey up, to unknown lands with so much uncertainty...but with an incredible desire to see their lives amount to something other than a shunned, divorced mother and her fatherless daughter. Mexico will remain Rosela's identity throughout her memoir, sometimes she loves this fact, others ( like when she was a teen in the 60's she wishes it were not so) she wishes she could be, and especially look more like her blond American friends. She lives in time when immigrants lives were even more uncertain than they are today, a time when the Vietnam war was full force, and the excitable 60's and 70's were rolling through. I enjoyed reading about how this impacted her as a foreigner, and what the feelings were towards her during this time.
   
   Rosela does not set the goals that would be acceptable for her to reach (as an immigrant in a small town), but she longs for dreams that will satisfy her, and fulfill her purpose. She grew up an outsider, but not only an outsider when she was in California, but also when she went on trips back to Mexico. Life is not easy, and mistakes are made, but Rosela's story is one of hope, dreams and much courage. I was honored to read Rose Castillo Gibault's memoir, the lessons she learned are not only for her situation, but I found them completely relatable. Because I could easily relate to this feeling of not fitting in very well, or depending on other's mercy to feel "at home", Farmworker's Daughter was that book that just feels right. Not pretentious, preachy or condemning, but just the right blend of truth, reality, and life.
   
   The writing of Farmworker's Daughter was really great, I enjoyed reading from the perspective of the little girl, then adolescent, then college age woman. It had really good follow through and lead me on right to the end of the book very smoothly. I loved reading this book, check it out!
   
   
   
   Here are some quotes ( I love quotes so I always have to include them!!):
   
   "As a teenager I once asked my mother why she had left since she always talked about the greatness of Mexico. Maybe she had given up too much to come here, I suggested. She thoughtfully considered what I knew to be an impudent comment, and I immediately felt guilty. She shook her head sadly and looked into space, as if her gaze could travel back in time and pinpoint the precise moment she had made that momentous decision. [...] "There was nothing to loose. There was nothing for you and me.""(p. 23).
   
   " Once I stepped outside my door, I was all alone and had to fend for myself. The only thing I feared more than school was disappointing my mother, so I hid my anxieties" (p. 48).
   
   "One of the most memorable episodes during my years in Mrs. Rojas class was the day our class picture was taken and Mrs. Rojas announced that the prettiest and most photogenic person in class was Ramona--a shy Mexican girl. The blondes were shocked, Ramona blossomed with new self-confidence and the rest of us were struck by the notion that a Mexican could be considered beautiful" (p. 86).
   
   "It was great to be popular in Mexico by acting out being an American, because in the United States I certainly didn't feel like one" (p. 112).
   
   " Those Americans found Mexicans in Mexico charming, but those same Mexicans, it seemed, quickly lost their "charm" once in the United States. My cousins were proud, and being snubbed left them with little desire to explore beyond the small-town prejudices. They did not return" (p. 114).

No comments about Roberto Clemente (The Great Hispanic Heritage).

5 comments about Parrot in the Oven: mi vida.

1. Manuel is fourteen years old and living close to the Mexican border. He is Mexican-American himself. His life is full of conflicts, from his father who is alcoholic and abusive and can't seem to keep a job, to his passive mother who lets herself be scared and abused, to his three siblings.
   
   This books is about Manuel's struggle to find himself and to figure out his life. It takes the reader on a journey through about a year in Manuel's life, and we get to see the things he interacts with daily, from his family situation to the bullies who live on his street, to the other people who surround him. Even though he sometimes has problems, like when he is invited to a party full of all white kids and things start to go bad, Manuel always manages to keep his head on his shoulders and get through things okay. Even though his family is dysfunctional, the reader is able to see some good in them.
   
   The language in this book is beautiful; the author has a gift for stringing together very poetic sentences. However, there wasn't any sort of cohesive storyline. I kept trying to wrestle the individual parts of the story into a plot, and was frustrated when they remained disjointed until the end.



2. I'm sorry but I really do not see what was special in Martinez' *Parrot in the Oven* that reaped him some awards. I did not see anything special about the story. However, I do agree that Martinez does have a way with words. They were eye-catching and made you wonder.
   
   *Parrot in the Oven* is divided into chapters that each one focuses on one particular topic. While there is a subtle storyline throughout, the overall picture is blurred. There's that "missing link" that prevents you from knowing each characters in the book. Simply, there's no depth other than with Manny.
   
   The book is told from Manny's perspectives. His dad has lost his job. He simply goes to the local pool hall and spends whatever money he can find and gets drunk. The mother is constantly cleaning the house. His older brother is never home and constantly has a new job. His older sister is secretive. His baby sister is simply a brat.
   
   Manny tells his experiences with school, White people, boxing, and the gang. Most of all, he tells how these experiences impact his family and their world-view.
   
   *Parrot in the Oven* is an alright book. It's nothing that you'd go around and recommend this book to friends. Just simply ok. The only best thing is Martinez' ways with words.



3. We think that this book is good for kids who are age 10 and up. Our favorite part of the book is when Victor has family problems with his mom and dad. This is one of the most important parts of the book that many students can relate to. The book is about a boy named Victor with family problems, and the reader learns about his entire life. The people who would like this book are people who enjoy real life stories, such as an autobiography.



4. The book was okay. The story is about a 14 year old, Mexican-American named Manny. He lives somewhere near the United States, Mexico border. Manny lives with his alcoholic father, his distant mother, his brother and two sisters. Manny's family is very poor, this is because his father refuses to work, leaving Manny and his brother Bernado to support the family. Manny's mother spends all of her time taking care of her youngest daughter, and cleaning the house. Manny is forced to deal with bullies, who pester him and his brother. The book did lack a plot. There was really no point to the story, it was just about the struggles of an average 14 year old boy. This was not a book I would recommend purchasing, it wasn't anything special.



5. "Mr. Hernandez" We're going to have to take your rifle away." This is a quote from the book Parrot in the Oven about a boy named Manny who is 14 years old and has two sisters and a brother. He is Mexican and lives in the projects in Los Angeles. He lives with his mom and dad. His dad is an alcoholic who gets mad at his family easy. Once he even tried to shoot his wife. His mom cleans the house all day. Manny is trying to get respect but he can't get it. The only way to get respect where Manny lives is to join a gang. He knows that is not the right way to get respect. There are many people who pick on Manny but some get scared because he has a tough older brother. He has a good relationship with his brother Benardo. The main problem is he doesn't get respect
   When I was reading this book I could relate a lot to it. His is from a Mexican family. There are many choices he has to make everyday. He has many difficult problems a lot of young Latino immigrants face in their lives. His family is always having a lot of stress in their family. Manny doesn't like the stress because he doesn't get respect. Every time his parents are stressed out and give him respect. Since they are they always worry about money. His family are not the only ones who don't give him respect. Also some of the other kids he knows in his neighborhood He is poor and his mom supports him in going to school.
   I will recommend this book to someone who is into life and growing up books. I think he wrote about experiences he had in his life. I think he is also to make right choices.

1 comments about Lalo: My Life and Music.

1. Lalo's memoir tells of the musical genius who changed the face of Latin music, documenting a sixty-year period in which Latin music styles and creation saw unparalleled changes. The first-person account tells of his life and his involvement in the changing world of Latin music.

No comments about Pele, King of Soccer/Pele, El rey del futbol.