The Poet Laureate of the United States, Mexican-American Juan Felipe Herrera, tells the story of his life in bilingual free-style poetry illustrated with colorful and often whimsical art work by Elly Simmons.

Herrera was born “on the road” in Fowler, California and grew up traveling with his migrant farmworker parents from labor camp to labor camp. Wherever they stopped, they set up a tent and slept under the stars in any kind of weather.

This is not a story about hardship however, but rather conveys the joys of family, love, traditions, and community. Eventually Juan's father build them a home on top of an abandoned car:

“From the distance, my house was
a short loaf of bread on wheels.
Inside it was a warm cave of conversations.”

Herrera fondly remembers his mother’s songs and his father’s stories, and all they shared together:

“A frying pan, a griddle to cook the tortillas,
and a jar of forks and knives -
these were the necessary ingredients.
And, of course, wood for the fire.

The sky was my blue spoon,
the wavy clay of the land was my plate.”

When Herrera was eight, his mother told his father they needed to settle down in one place so Juan could go to school. The biography ends with their journey to a permanent location:

“As the cities came into view, I knew
one day I would follow my own road.
I would let my voice fly the way my mother recited poems,
the way my father called the doves.”

Evaluation: What a beautiful, evocative tribute to Herrera’s parents and childhood. Herrera, who has won a number of awards for his books of poetry, shows that a life that might seem hard to adults can, to a child, seem full of magic, as long as there is love. The gorgeous art by Simmons adds to a sense of magical wonder and warmth.

This book provides a balance to all the negative accounts of migrant farmworker life, which indeed is full of hardship. According to a 2005 National Agricultural Workers Survey, US Dept. of Labor, farm work the second lowest paid job in the nation, after domestic labor. It is also ranked as one of the three most dangerous occupations in the United States. The stress from uncertainty is high for parents, and children of migrant farmworkers have higher rates of pesticide exposure, malnutrition and dental disease than the general population. Many migrant children work alongside their parents: by the time a migrant child is 12, he/she may work in the fields between 16-18 hours per week. And yet, sometimes there can be much to celebrate as well, if one finds new perspectives to think about life, as this story shows. ( )

This is a good for both ELL or Native speakers. The author paints a picture throughout the book about his childhood life as a migrant life worker. He talks about he celebrated different fiestas and how the other migrant families would also celebrate together with his families. They would also sing and his dad calling the doves. ( )

This story is about a boy that has a family that lives in California that is of Mexican descent. They might not have much money but they make what is best with what they have. He describes his life events from his family to the community he lives with. His dad is a campesino and his mother heals people. His father sings to the doves and his mother recites poems, without them he would have not been introduced to poetry or music and he is very thankful for that. In the end he is happy of who he is and takes pride in his family.

In this 1995 memoir the poet laureate (of California in 2012, and of the United States in 2015) recalls his pre-school childhood while traveling with his parents, migrant farmworkers, from crop to crop in California. He remembers, sleeping under the stars, the call of wolves at night, the turkeys who chased him, and his father singing like a dove and his mother spontaneously reciting poetry at dinner, and the colors of everything.

Simmons’s bright palette and sweeping lines beautifully vivify the illustrations.

A comforting tale of growing up as the son of a migrant farmer from Mexico. The word choices and languages are as colorful as the illustrations!