Winner of the UNESCO Tolerance Awards and the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and an Americas Award Commended Title
Life is simple for Pedro -- he goes to school, does his homework and, most importantly, plays soccer. But when the soldiers come and take his friend Daniel's father away, things suddenly become much more complicated.
Why, for instance, do Pedro's parents secretly listen to the radio every evening after dinner? And why does the government want Pedro and his classmates to write compositions about what their parents do in the evening?
Humorous, serious and intensely human, this powerful picture book by Chilean writer Antonio Skarmeta presents a situation all too familiar to children around the world. And for children it provides food for thought about freedom, moral choices and personal responsibility.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.6
Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)
Winner of the UNESCO Tolerance Awards and the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and an Americas Award Commended Title
Life is simple for Pedro -- he goes to school, does his homework and, most importantly, plays soccer. But when the soldiers come and take his friend Daniel's father away, things suddenly become much more complicated.
Why, for instance, do Pedro's parents secretly listen to the radio every evening after dinner? And why does the government want Pedro and his classmates to write compositions about what their parents do in the evening?
Humorous, serious and intensely human, this powerful picture book by Chilean writer Antonio Skarmeta presents a situation all too familiar to children around the world. And for children it provides food for thought about freedom, moral choices and personal responsibility.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.6
Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Mar 5, 2003 |
| Specifications | 36 pages | 9 in x 8 in |
| Written By | Antonio Skarmeta is a Chilean writer. His fiction has won many awards and has been translated into nearly thirty languages worldwide. |
| Illustrated by | Alfonso Ruano is an illustrator and the art director for Grupo SM, the world's largest publisher of Spanish-language children's books. He lives in Madrid, Spain. |
| Written By |
| Antonio Skarmeta is a Chilean writer. His fiction has won many awards and has been translated into nearly thirty languages worldwide. |
| Illustrated by |
| Alfonso Ruano is an illustrator and the art director for Grupo SM, the world's largest publisher of Spanish-language children's books. He lives in Madrid, Spain. |
| Audience | ages 8 and up / grades 3 and up |
| Reading Levels | Lexile 590L |
| Common Core |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.6 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1 |
Winner, Americas Award Commended List, 2001
Winner, Jane Addams Children's Book Award, 2001
Winner, UNESCO Tolerance Award, 2001
Commended, Scholastic Parent and Child Magazine 100 Greatest Books for Kids, 2012
“Skarmeta's concise and pointed description of Pedro's acquisition of political consciousness and discretion is brilliant.” —School Library Journal
“With realistic local details of school, home, and neighborhood, words and pictures stay true to the child's viewpoint...” —Booklist