What do You think about The Circuit: Stories From The Life Of A Migrant Child (1997)?
Samira lopesI just finished reading The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez. it’s a fiction book of a young boy named Francisco and his family. The theme of this book is “ sometimes it takes the things that you never expected to get what you want”. tThis book is about a seven year old boy named Francisco and his family. Francisco’s Mexican family consists of him, his older brother Roberto, his mother, and father. His family is from El Rancho Blanco and doesn’t have a wealthy life so they immigrate to the united states. They don’t consider it crossing the border they call it la Frontera. They immigrate to the United States to find a better life. Before they could start a better life in the U.S.A they had to work very hard. But it took a while and struggle to brush off who they really were in El Rancho Blanco and start all over in the United Stated. tThis book is interesting and very memorable. Immigration is something that goes on everyday and is usually always on the news and for me to read and see how it really is done had me biting my nails. It also made me see that not everyone’s life is easy. My favorite memorable moment was on chapter one when he was describing how they crossed the border. I was nervous myself if anything was going to go wrong. The book was very descriptive, it went right to the point, and if their was any confusion about anything it ended up explaining it in at some point. This affected me a lot because my friends and I sometimes make jokes about immigration and now I have changed my mind. I have realized it happens to people all around us and making a joke out of it isn’t going to make it any better. tI would recommend this book to anyone that speaks or understands Spanish because its easier for them to understand the Spanish parts in the book and to see some of the struggles their ancestors went through. If you liked Belle Teal by Ann M. Martin. Both of these books deal with family struggle and struggling for a better life. tIn conclusion I enjoyed reading The circuit and I hope to relate my opinion with someone who has also read this book. it’s an unbelievable book and I enjoyed every part of it. If your family doesn’t have to go through struggles just know theirs others out there that deal with it everyday of their life. t t
—Samira
Francisco Jimenez's "The Circuit" is about a young Hispanic boy whom he and a his family pick strawberries for a living. One day his father decides to move from Mexico to a camp near Fresno, California for work. The narrator did not want to move and hated it but it was too late for all of their belongings had been packed away in cardboard boxes. His father rode his 38' black Plymouth "Carcanchia" all the way to Fresno only to find no work, until a man named Sullivan invited them in to pick fruits for work in his farm. He then invited the family to live in a old abandoned garage. The narrator's family did their best to make themselves comfortable. Later on in the story, when there no more grapes to pick(that was what they were picking) the protagonist was then able to go to school. Even though he did not know any English words his teacher Mr. Lema helped him. As time passed by Mr. Lema and the protagonist became more like friends. One day Mr.lema asked the protagonist if he liked music. The protagonist said he liked "corridos"(a type of music)and Mr. Lema then offered to teach him to the important part of the music which was the trumpet. The protagonist was eager to tell his parents but by the time then he had already seen that all of their belongings had been packed away in cardboard boxes. I would recommend this to friends because it is a good story and it explains the life of a Hispanic boy around the time of the 1950's.
—Christine Aranda
Grade/Interest Level: Upper Elementary, Middle SchoolLexile Leve: 880LGenre: Autobiography, Multicultural LitMain Characters: Panchito, mother, father, brothersSetting: California POV: Panchito This book is a collection of short stories that follows the life Francisco’s family. They have illegally crossed the border from Mexico to search for a better life. The family does manual labor on various fields for a number of years. The stories are told through Francisco’s (Panchito) eyes. We are told of when he goes to school and the issues he experienced there because of the language barriers. This story does a very good job in captivating what is going on while enabling the reader to understand how the author felt at the time. The way the story is told is also effective because it provides an insight of one of the many sequences of events in the author’s life. We get the sense of his pursuit of happiness and the chapter The Circuit depicts his journey for a better life. The authenticity and good-heartedness in this work makes the reader inclined to sympathize with the Pachito as we are brought into a world of dreams, aspirations and perseverance. The story of an immigrant fleeing his homeland to a land of opportunities overcomes the obstacles and hardships of adapting and assimilating. Jimenez has given a face to issues of immigration and the audience of The Circuit is clear. I like this book because it is autobiographical and tells of real experiences that the Jimenez family had in coming to America. I feel like this book would help students in understanding the struggles that migrant immigrant workers faced and the obstacles they overcame. There can be discussion on how being illegal made it difficult for the family to receive needs like food, shelter, and medical attention.
—Yasmeen
