I enjoyed the way Trottier takes us into the day-dreams of a migrant girl and her use of metaphors to create empathy. It is subtle and not too heavy for K-5 children. The artwork is delightful! When the reader learns that the migrant girl speaks German...that was a little confusing. But the epilogue expains about "Mennonites from Mexico" and helps clear up that confusion. While I appreciated the information, I also understand that the story is meant to stand alone and not "teach" something. It is, ultimately, just lovely. Migrant is a powerful picture book that follows a little girl named Anna. Anna begins the story describing her family as a flock of geese that fly north in spring and south in the fall. She continues to relate herself to animals throughout the story as she describes her and her families living styles. Anna shares her feelings about what it is like being an immigrant. The audience feels for little Anna because she is just a young girl forced to move from place to place and work. This story is told from the perspective of a migrant and really makes the reader try to understand what it is like to be foreign. Though this story seems to be lighthearted, it conveys a very strong message that is suppose to relate the Mexican immigrants. This is a story that all teachers should have in their classroom because it paints a picture of the emotions that people of different cultures have to go through when then are introduced to a new place.
An unusual story of migrants that reveals a little migrant's feelings. Unusul illustrations too.
—Bunny
Beautiful pictures. Beautiful story.
—Alli
Slightly surreal illustrations
—simrin
Beautiful
—divya