a little princess. frances hodgson burnett.

a little princess was one of my favorite books as a child.  the 90s movie based on it was a favorite movie of mine, as well.  a little princess was on my to-reread list for three reasons:  1) it is on lena dunham's ideal bookshelf, 2) esperanza rising reminded me of it, and 3) i was kind of bored by the secret garden and wondered if i had made up my loving of a little princess as a kid.  i finally reread it when i discovered, may 12-18 was children's books week and thought a little princess would be the perfect way to celebrate!

it was a perfect celebration because i loved a little princess just as much as i did as a child, maybe even more.  quick summary, sara was a sweet and wealthy child that is sent to boarding school in london.  she had a very loving father, captain crewe that sent her away to be raised properly since they lived in india, her mother died when she was young.  her father indulged sara, he gave her everything her heart desired but sara wasn't a spoiled, unbearable. self-centered brat, in fact she was a well-mannered little princess (hence the title) that always thought of others.  sara had a decent time at boarding school where she was star pupil.   the headmistress was sadly jealous of her wealthy and of course there were mean girls, but sara befriended a pudgy girl, a young little monster that she pretended to be mother to, and a servant girl named becky. 

then sadly one day, sara's world is turned upside down.  on the day of her big birthday party, it is discovered that captain crewe died from stress of a business venture that had to do with diamond mines, leaving sara an orphan and penniless.  instead of being sympathetic, the head mistress is outraged that her star pupil was worth nothing especially considering all that she had just spent on her extravagant birthday party.  (i personally was disgusted by the head mistress' behavior, the poor child lost her father but all she cared about was her money!)  sara then became a servant at the school, since she was so intelligent her work included tutoring and running special errands.

since sara was raised so well by her father and had such a sweet spirit, though it was tough being a servant, it does not destroy her.  she used her imagination to make her living conditions more bearable.  she also befriended the rats that lived in the attic with her.

then one day a gentleman from indian moved in next door to the boarding school.  sara met his ram dass and his monkey. the ram dass then told the gentleman of sara and they begin to make sara's dreams come true by providing her with food and proper bedding and clothing.  the ram dass would sneak in while sara did her chores. one day the monkey ran into sara's window and she went next door to return him herself.  and then its is discovered that the gentleman was her father's business partner and he had been looking for her (he was searching for her in paris then russia when she happened to be next door the whole time!).  the diamond mines were real and she was rich!!!!  of course the head mistress heard and tried to make it seemed like she cared for sara but the ram dass and seen how sara was treated and told the gentleman.  in the end, sara lived happily ever after and was a real little princess.

okay, so the story cleans up a little too nicely at the end but it's a children's book.  sara was so caring and loving that you wanted her to have a happy ending.  it really is a lovely modernish fairy tale for girls and once that will remind them the truly rich are those girls of good character.

lupita mañana. patricia beatty. (183)

after reading esperanza rising, i was inspired to read lupita mañana, the story of a girl who also immigrated illegally to the united states and works in the fields.  i read it in jr. high and figured, it would be a nice reread. i do have to admit that prior to my rereading, i did not recall any details from the story.  the only memory i had was how "lupita mañana" became a slang word for my high school friends and i, a new term we used instead of "wetbacks".  i know its so horribly racist but you have to give us credit for being so clever and for our literary slang.  and in our defense, i am sure the girls we called "lupita mañana" probably called us horrible names behind our backs as well, it was high school.

oh and before i go on, there was some debate as to when our teachers assigned this book.  i thought i had read it in jr. high, but when i posted it as a #literarythrowback on my instagram, some people said it was high school.  i am going to claim jr. high because from what i can recall, it was jr. high because we had to explain who lupita mañana was to our friend mona, who did not go to jr. high with us.  also i can't imagine being assigned lupita mañana and great expectations, in the same year, which would have happened if i did read it in high school.

but back to the story.  lupita mañana opened the same as esperanza rising, with the death of a father.  however, unlike esperanza, lupita's family was poor.  despite the class difference, both girls had hearts of gold, throughout the novel i was impressed by lupita's devotion to providing for her family.  i could not imagine myself being that selfless (probably because i am not).  since luptia's family was poor, the mother decided to send lupita and her older brother, salvador, to indio (all of my treks out to coachella helped me visualize the setting for the book.  also i must add my grandfather also worked in the fields in indio as well) to live with her rich sister in america.  due to their poverty, the family was unprepared to send lupita and salvador to america, they could not afford a coyote or the forged paper to help them across.  they didn't even have a car to drive them to tijuana (where they would cross the border into united states) instead they walked from ensenada (which after googling, i discovered is 89.3 miles!!!).  they travelled with only a few pesos, eggs, tortillas and bottles of water . . . and they actually made it to america.  i didn't think it would happen because it seemed impossible, especially since they were so young and inexperienced but they both were clever and by the grace of god (lupita did pray alot) they made it across the border.  it was even more of a miracle that they actually found their aunt.  today was are so reliant upon gps that i could not imagine just being pointed in a direction and told to find someone., it would be like finding a needle in a haystack, impossible, partially because it is.  

reading this as an adult, i had a lot more anxiety about lupita and salvador's traveling than i did when i was in jr. high.  the violence that did occur was appalling, the men trying to rob them in mexico, and the gringos shooting at them on their way to indio, but i was constantly worried something worse was going to happen.  even though this book is a children's book, i was scared of lupita and salvador becoming victims of sexual violence.  there were so many situations in which that could have occurred.  lupita mañana was written in 1981, when tj was still "safe" (i have family in chula vista and we would go all the time to tj when i was a kid), but today there are so many stories of violence in that city since it is a border town.  i saw every man lupita and salvador encountered as a predator.  if this book was rewritten for today, i am sure that this would have been an issue.  though i know it was not occured, i was worried lupita would be attacked at the park when she waited for salvador.  even when they arrived in colton and the man befriended them, i was sure it was to have them as part of a sex slave ring i know it could never occur in a kid's book, but still i worried.  

i even got a weird vibe from lucky.  i got the impression he wanted to be salvador's novio.  my gaydar went off with him but again that could never happen in a kid's book.

this is really horrible but i also worried about lupita falling victim to her aunt's husband.  with his alcoholism and resentment towards lupita as another person in the home, i was scared of him abusing her.  i kept on waiting for him to come into the room when she was sleeping and being inappropriate.  i know it sounds weird for me to be that paranoid but i am sure sexual abuse is an untold experience of immigration especially, illegal immigration to america.

back to the story.  i could not believe how salvador abandoned his sister and family like he did.  beatty did foreshadow his immaturity, incompetence, and disoloyalty but i hoped his behavior in mexico was to be a foil to how he rose to the occasion in america.  this did not happen.  though i guess salvador's irresponsibility acted as a foil lupita's hard work and dedication to her family.  i was impressed how she even supplemented salvador's contribution to her mother.  it was horrible how salvador wasted his money on his novia and clothes instead of helping out his family.  i know this may sound harsh but i was happy that salvador got caught by la migra and deported.  instant karma for his poor behavior.  (i must add this book also added la migra to my vocabulary.)  i also enjoyed lupita telling off lucky! 

i loved the ending, lupita understanding the importance of learning english despite the others telling her it was unnecessary.  it melted my heart that irela decided to teach her.  it was a very sweet ending to the book and demonstrated how lupita mañana's optimism helped her survive in america.  on the topic of optimism, i find it interesting how both girls esperanza and lupita mañana both had hopeful names.  esperanza meaning hope and mañana was lupita's nickname because she always believed that tomorrow, mañana, things would be better.  mañana also reminded me of the quote from on the road, 

sure baby, mañana.  it was always mañana.  for the next few weeks that was all i heard--mañana a lovely word and one that probably means heaven.

before i go on, i have to add that learning english is very important for immigrants to the united states.  i don't understand why americans are viewed as racist for expecting immigrants to learn our language.  if i immigrated to paris, i would need to learn french, or japanese, if i moved to tokyo.  learning the language of my new home is not an intrusion upon my ethnic identity but a necessity so that i can function in my new country.  people should learn the language so that they may have the best quality of life, which is why i admired lupita for her desire to learn.  living in delano, i deal with people that make no attempt to learn english and then hold me in contempt for not understanding spanish.  last time i checked, i lived in america was english was the primary language.  majority of these times, these people that expect me to speak in spanish for them, speak english and/or at least understand it.  i understand that english is a difficult language to learn, i have worked with early readers, teaching them phonetic sounds and rules and grammar rules are confusing for so many, but there is not a single good excuse for not learning the language of the country you live in.  how do you speak to 911 when you have an emergency if you don't know the language?  how do you help your child's education if you don't understand the language they are being taught in?  working in the school system, i think this should be the number one reason that an immigrant learns a language.  before i go on, i have to clarify that i am am not advocating english as the only language.  i think children should learn english while maintaining their parents' language.  i hate how my family lost my grandfather's language and my grandma lost her parents' language.  however, i do think that if you are in america, you need to speak english, and i think we need to stop catering to the needs of those who can't.  it is one thing to help them with learning the language, its a completely different thing to have a society in which knowing the english language is not a requirement.  

like esperanza rising, this book is loosely based on real people.  beatty heard the story of the real lupita and salvador from their older brother, victorio and then wrote this story as to what could have happened to them.  in the author's note at the end, does explain the immigration situation to make it digestable for kids.  again i am torn on the issues that beatty addressed.  on the one hand, being the grandchild of an illegal immigrant, i see illegal immigration as a means for a better life.  i mean i would not be here today if my grandfather did not come to america.  however, i see in delano, how illegal immigrants abuse the welfare programs that are put into place to help citizens.  i hear stories of illegals using fake social security cards to collect welfare or to collect welfare using multiple names, or qualifying for food stamps for their kids.   in the novel, we see lupita's aunt worried about losing her welfare check and not being honest in her reporting so that she does not jeopardize her check.  my frustration with this abuse of welfare programs is that these people on these programs do not contribute to the pot from which they take.  most illegals are paid in cash since they are illegal which means their money does not get taxed like the rest of us, so they do not contribute to the programs that they benefit from.  it all may seem contradictory but my grandfather though illegal never went on welfare, he slaved away in the fields to provide for his family.    i know that this might sound contradictory, but i am okay with illegal immigrants who come and do the menial work that most americans would not do, but i do have issue with illegal immigrants who come to america and abuse the welfare programs that we have.  i understand there would be no america without immigration but everyone should contribute to the country versus taking away from it.  i am sorry if this little rant offended anyone and if i come across as a racist or an insensitive bigot, but i also come from a community where i see immigrants draining our society instead of helping to lift it up.

back to the novel, i am glad i reread lupita mañana, it was an interesting contrast to the experience i had read about in esperanza rising.  hopefully schools will have students read both books to allow for two different perspectives of the immigrant experience.

esperanza rising. pam muñoz ryan.

i had seen esperanza rising while skimming the book racks in the kids section of the library but never thought of checking it out.  one day, mary, a teacher i sub for, recommended that i read it.  the next week while on campus subbing, the whole third grade team was shocked i hadn't read it, so gina lent me her class copy.

and what can i say other than, i am so happy they got me to read it because it is a great book.  it reminded me of one of my favorite books as a kid, a little princess (which i know plan on rereading.) it was also great to see the region that i grew up in featured.  it reminded me of grapes of wrath as well.

the book is about a young girl named, esperanza.  she is the only daughter of a wealthy ranchero in mexico.  she lived a life of luxury and privilege and was fully aware of class distinction.  she told her playmate and son of workers on her parents ranch, miguel, that they could never marry because they were on two sides of a river.  she could not marry someone beneath her.

one day, all of this changed, when her father was murdered by bandits. my theory is that her uncle's were behind it because they showed up with his belt buckle before miguel and his father appeared with his body.  in her father's will, esperanza's mother was left the house but since a woman can not land, the land was given to her tio.  this tio's planned to run for governor and proposed to esperanza's mother, because he needed a respectable wife.  esperanza's mother was insulted by the offer and refused, as a result, the tio burned down their home!  furthermore, the tio owned the bank, and esperanza's mother was unable to access her money. to avoid marriage, esperanza's mother decided to immigrate to america with miguel's parents (her servants but also friends).  since abuelita was injured in the fire, they leave her with her sisters in a nunnery until she recovered.

they immigrated to america, luckily with papers from the nuns.  esperanza experienced a culture shock, having to adjust to life as a peasant.  she looked down upon those traveling on the train not realizing that she was now their equal.  i have to admit that i was just as judgmental as esperanza was about the peasant girl wanting to play with her doll. i would have reacted the same way now as an adult.  it was the last gift her father gave her, she should preserve it.  i was even sad when she gave it away at the end of the story, though it was framed as a nobel action.

life in america was hard since they are farm workers, though it was harder for esperanza because she was not used to working, being part of the gentry.  thanks to miguel's father's brother they had work and a camp to live in (as i learned in grapes of wrath that they had the best living conditions.) esperanza helped out at the camp, but had to learn simple things likes how to sweep.  she also took care of the babies at home.  everything was going well until one day her mom got valley fever (which i swear i had gotten two years ago because i was bed ridden for a week) due to a dust storm.  to help pay for her mother's hospital bills, esperanza began to work in the fields.  

in the fields, esperanza encountered the socioeconomic issues of the field work, which was also demonstrated in grapes of wrath and which i also encountered first hand growing up in delano.  though they help feed america, farmer worker do have the worse working conditions.  they are paid almost nothing and the living conditions (outside of camps) were often inhabitable.  esperanza encountered a girl, marta, who had first mocked esperanza for her previous wealth and was at the forefront of the protestors' movement.  she wanted the workers to strike for better living conditions and pay.  marta is a complex character, on the one hand she is a foil to esperanza, the rebellious, illegal lower class immigrant that attempts to stir up trouble for her own people, but from a humane point-of-view, you can't help but sympathize with her, she simply wanted a better life for the workers.  though they are working for betterment, protestors often put the collective group at risk of job lost and deportation, so it some ways the protestors have a positive effect and/or a negative effect.  this paradox is something that esperanza faced.  she decided that it is better for her to work, she needs to provide for her mother, but towards the end of the story she is overwhelmed by the racism and discrimination she and those close to her encounter.  it's interesting because i recently had a discussion with my cousin erin about our grandfather encountering this in real life.  my grandfather was a foreman during the times of cesar chavez, but he was not active in the movement.  i assume because he saw that it was better that he worked and provide for his family.  when i interviewed him about it once for school, he did mention that they did ask him to join the movement but left him alone because he had a large family (he had 8 kids to support in addition to my grandma's brother's being in the household as well.)  though my grandfather knew it was unfair, he worked because his main priority was providing for his family.  my mother told me that though he was not active in the movement, he was grateful for the changes that was brought about by cesar chavez.  

as mentioned before, esperanza became overwhelmed by the discrimination that she and others encountered.  this combined with her mother not getting better and her abuelita's absence, esperanza gave up hope.  however, miguel saved the day!  he took esperanza's money she had saved (she at first thought he stole it) and went to bring her abuelita to america!  i was so happy reading this part that i started crying, imaging what relieve and comfort her abuelita brought to esperanza  (i also still miss my grandma bea terribly).  from that point on, things began to improve for her mother and for eserpanza.

and let's go back to miguel for a minute.  what a sweet sweet boy!  i had a total book crush on him.  he was so cute with his addressing esperanza as his reina.  he was also brave and courageous, i didn't mention it but earlier, he saved abuelita in the fire too!  he was caring and patient, he taught esperanza how to sweep!  seriously the sweetest character in this book! i really hope that he and espernza marry one day and live happily ever after!

in the author's note, ryan shared with us that esperanza was based on her grandmother, esperanza ortega.  her grandmother told her about her wealthy life in mexico and then her struggle in america.  some of the points in the story parallel her grandmother's real life, but she decided to create a fictional story of why her grandmother immigrated and what occurred to her here in america.  i thought it was great how she based this novel on her family history.  i also appreciated the setting of the story for it took place in the region that i grew up (as mentioned before) and the story is not one that i know first hand but is a story that many in this area can identify with.  and if you are from delano, please take the time to pick up this book!