Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez was born in Arizona in 1927. He lived an idyllic life there until the drought came in 1937. His family moved to California to become migrant workers. Chavez was appalled by the poor working conditions, very low pay, long hours without rest or access to clean drinking water or bathrooms. In his early 20s, Chavez devoted himself to a lifelong fight for the rights of farm workers. The fight, in Chavez view, had to be non-violent.Nonviolence is a powerful tool in seeking political change. Chavez was strongly influenced by the work of Mahatma Gandhi in India and Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States. Chavez convinced farm workers to use the nonviolent technique of boycotting picking grapes for one of the many grape growers in the Central Valley. He publicized his cause by marching from Delano in the Central Valley of California to Sacramento, the capital of California. When he began, only 67 other people marched with him. By the time he arrived in Sacramento, more than 300 miles away, 10,000 people were marching with him. In the middle of the March, the grape company gave in to the boycotting farm workers and signed a contract with them. This was the first contract for farm workers in the United States.The illustrations are rounded and flowing in rich, deep colors. They capture the emotions of the story, from the idyllic life in Arizona to the excitement when the marchers reached Sacramento.The last two pages of the book are called "Author's Note" and give some adult level background about the life and work of Cesar Chavez.This book is listed as a biography of Cesar Chavez, but it is also a vivid story about the power of nonviolence in seeking change.

I teach Social Studies and have introduced Mr. Chavez into my "Heroes of Social Justice" curriculum for 1st Graders. While I wish this book gave Dolores Huerta her due, it is beautifully written and illustrated. My kids loved it!

For some reason this book was not very engaging to my students. It also left out the complexity of this man and his work. There was no discussion of his trying to stop illegal immigrants coming into the USA to protect farm worker jobs and wages. I don't think kids should hear about hunger strikes either. So though I feel this topic is important, I don't really like this book. I feel like I grabbed the wrong one.

I read this book to my daughter’s first grade class during their farm study. It opened up a window to talk about things that they never thought about farming. The children were so upset and saddened when I explained to them farmworkers still endure terrible working conditions that they decided to raise money to help farmworkers. We come from a family of trabajadores del fil and this book beautifully captures the hardship and heartbreak that farming brings especially to undocumented farmworkers.

This book arrived with no damages. It tells the powerful story that children are able to understand.

Wanted to add books that my students could relate to as this book fits right in.

Beautifully illustrated with bi-lingual text.Wonderfully presented history of an important Mexican American worker who led endeavors for justice and fairness

This is a lovely book with beautiful illustrations and a compelling story. It's a perfect read-aloud when our 4th grade class is studying California and agriculture. Cesar Chavez is a personal hero of mine, and this does him justice.