In this moving and timely story, a young child describes what it is like to be a migrant as she and her father travel north toward the US border.
They travel mostly on the roof of a train known as The Beast, but the little girl doesn’t know where they are going. She counts the animals by the road, the clouds in the sky, the stars. Sometimes she sees soldiers. She sleeps, dreaming that she is always on the move, although sometimes they are forced to stop and her father has to earn more money before they can continue their journey.
As many thousands of people, especially children, in Mexico and Central America continue to make the arduous journey to the US border in search of a better life, this is an important book that shows a young migrant’s perspective.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
In this moving and timely story, a young child describes what it is like to be a migrant as she and her father travel north toward the US border.
They travel mostly on the roof of a train known as The Beast, but the little girl doesn’t know where they are going. She counts the animals by the road, the clouds in the sky, the stars. Sometimes she sees soldiers. She sleeps, dreaming that she is always on the move, although sometimes they are forced to stop and her father has to earn more money before they can continue their journey.
As many thousands of people, especially children, in Mexico and Central America continue to make the arduous journey to the US border in search of a better life, this is an important book that shows a young migrant’s perspective.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Sep 22, 2015 |
| Specifications | 56 pages | 8.86 in x 8.27 in |
| Keywords | emigration and immigration; people and places; travel and adventure; Mexico and Central America; US border; Hispanic and Latino; immigrant experience; migration and refugees; perseverance; adaptability; courage; child as narrator; Spanish language; first person narration; questioning; determining importance; connecting; Common Core aligned; CC Literature Key Ideas and Details; grade 2; Kirkus Best Picture Books; School Library Journal Best Books; picture book; |
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Supporting Resources
(select item to download) |
Teacher's Guide Guide |
| Written By |
Author JAIRO BUITRAGO has collaborated with Rafael Yockteng on several picture books, including Jimmy the Greatest! (six starred reviews), Two White Rabbits (three starred reviews), Walk with Me (three starred reviews), Lion and Mouse (two starred reviews) and Wounded Falcons (two starred reviews and named a USBBY Outstanding International Book). Jairo has also won the Hispanoamericano Castillo prize for children's literature and the Antonio García Cubas Award. He lives in Mexico City, Mexico. |
| Illustrated by |
RAFAEL YOCKTENG has illustrated many highly acclaimed children’s books, including Afterward, Everything was Different: A Tale From the Pleistocene; Wounded Falcons (two starred reviews and named a USBBY Outstanding International Book); Jimmy the Greatest! (six starred reviews); Two White Rabbits (three starred reviews); and Walk with Me (three starred reviews) by Jairo Buitrago. Rafael’s books have been included on IBBY’s Honor List, the Horn Book Fanfare and in the White Ravens Catalogue. He lives in Bogotá, Colombia. |
| Written By |
|
Author JAIRO BUITRAGO has collaborated with Rafael Yockteng on several picture books, including Jimmy the Greatest! (six starred reviews), Two White Rabbits (three starred reviews), Walk with Me (three starred reviews), Lion and Mouse (two starred reviews) and Wounded Falcons (two starred reviews and named a USBBY Outstanding International Book). Jairo has also won the Hispanoamericano Castillo prize for children's literature and the Antonio García Cubas Award. He lives in Mexico City, Mexico. |
| Illustrated by |
|
RAFAEL YOCKTENG has illustrated many highly acclaimed children’s books, including Afterward, Everything was Different: A Tale From the Pleistocene; Wounded Falcons (two starred reviews and named a USBBY Outstanding International Book); Jimmy the Greatest! (six starred reviews); Two White Rabbits (three starred reviews); and Walk with Me (three starred reviews) by Jairo Buitrago. Rafael’s books have been included on IBBY’s Honor List, the Horn Book Fanfare and in the White Ravens Catalogue. He lives in Bogotá, Colombia. |
| Audience | ages 4 to 7 / grades K to 2 |
| Reading Levels |
Guided Reading K
Lexile AD370L Reading Recovery 18 |
| Common Core | CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3 |
Commended, Kirkus Best Picture Books of the Year, 2015
Commended, School Library Journal Best Picture Books of the Year, 2015
Commended, NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children, Recommended Book, 2015
Commended, A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year, 2016
Commended, Notable Books for a Global Society, 2016
Commended, USBBY Outstanding International Books, 2016
“This beautiful, understated story is extremely important right now; it will resonate with many and open the eyes of children unfamiliar with the experience of immigration.” —Booklist, STARRED REVIEW