LA Mariposa (Spanish Edition) - Hardcover

Jimenez, Francisco

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395917387 ISBN 13: 9780395917381

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1998

Synopsis

Because he can only speak Spanish, Francisco, the son of a migrant worker, has trouble when he begins first grade, but his fascination with the caterpillar in the classroom helps him begin to fit in.

About this title

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 award-winning author of The Circuit, Breaking Through, and La Mariposa. He lives with his family in Santa Clara, California.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Held back in school because he did not speak English well enough, the author speaks of himself in the third-person to tell this autobiographical story of a school incident. Francisco is a young immigrant boy from Mexico trying to adjust to first grade in the US. Unlike the other children, Francisco wears suspenders, does not understand school bells, and can't comprehend a word his teacher is saying. His fascination with a caterpillar in a jar leads to flights of fancy; he imagines himself flying out of the classroom and over the rows of lettuce where his father works. Difficulties include a misunderstanding that leads to a fight with classmate Curtis, and a butterfly picture, drawn by Francisco, that disappears. Jimnez successfully captures the confusion and isolation of his protagonist in an unembellished, straightforward narration; the ending is impossibly happy, as he wins a prize for his art, makes amends with Curtis, and a newly hatched butterfly goes free. Silva's characters are strongly outlined in black, and his robust scenes of landscapes and classrooms are rich with the oranges of the monarch, echoed in fields, sunsets, and the flannel of Francisco's shirt. (glossary) (Picture book. 6-9) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0395917387
• ISBN 13: 9780395917381
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Silva Simon