The book I'm currently reading is Breaking Through by Franscico Jimenez. It's about a boy named Panchito (the main character) and his family immigrating to California in the 1940's. Panchito was only 4 years old when they illegally immigrated to the United States. 10 years later the border patrol finds him & his family and send them back to Mexico. As they walked on the streets of Mexico they ran into barefoot children in ripped clothes digging through trash cans for food. This reminds me of when I go to Tijuana with my parents we always see kids trying to find a way to make money to buy food, and we would always see kids looking through the trash cans for recycled cans, it's pretty depressing. Then Panchito and his brother Roberto get a visa, and come back to the U.S. unfortunately not all the family can come because they didn't have enough money for everyone to get a visa. Panchito & his brother Roberto had to live alone without their parents in the U.S. They had to take care of themselves, they would send money to their parents in Mexico. At school Panchito wasn't much of talker, so he would eavesdrop on conversations and see what boys & girls were talking about. Music was what the kids mostly talked about, so Panchito and his brother Roberto listened to Rock 'N' Roll music and eventually were big Elvis fans. Panchito would dance in class when it was a rainy day and they couldn't go outside. Panchito and Roberto eventually went to the Vets hall for dances every saturday night. Then at home Panchito and Roberto were secret dance partners, they would dance with each other to get more skills on how to dance. A few months later the family came to the U.S. they all were back together again, this made me feel happy because they all we back together again as a big happy family. This part reminds me of when my mom was on business trips and she would surprise me and my brother then we would give her a big hug. Also Panchito's mom (mama) brought Panchito and Roberto presents. This part reminds me when my mom would bring me and my brother souvenirs from the places she visited. Panchito, Roberto, and their father had to go back and work in the fields because the plants were dieing . They lost 3 acres of strawberries Then later on Panchito graduates the eighth grade and Panchito's father gives him a necklace. This reminds me of my graduation, when my parents gave me an i-pod for graduating the sixth grade. Unfortunately Panchito's parents could not attend his graduation.
Living in his situation would have been hard for me, living in the U.S. with no parents, no guardian. Who would protect me or sign my syllabus for school! Having to work after school and on weekends to bring money to my family in Mexico. Living in harsh conditions like Panchito would be hard for me. Overall this book is really good I would recommend it to anyone. It's so descriptive & just plain awesome! I hope this is good, tell me if i need to revise anything kay (:
1 comment:
This is great! I appreciate two things, specifically:
1) You used LOTS of evidence from the book.
2) You made lots of connections ("This reminded me," etc.)
One thing that might make it easier for your audience is the occasional line break or paragraph. It's a little hard to read one block of text. I love being able to learn more about you by reading your reading journal. An iPod for 6th grade! So cool.
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