Esperanza Rising

A timeless and beloved award-winning modern classic, with millions of copies in print, from New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honoree Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Esperanza thought she'd always live a privileged life on her family's ranch in Mexico. She'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home filled with servants, and Mama, Papa, and Abuelita to care for her. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard work, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When Mama gets sick and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances--because Mama's life, and her own, depend on it.

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Published: 05/01/2002
Pages: 262
Weight: 0.45lbs
Size: 7.50h x 5.10w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780439120425
Age: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.3
Point Value: 6
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 44286 / Esperanza Rising


Award: Golden Sower Award - Nominee
Award: Sunshine State Young Reader's Award - Nominee
Award: Sunshine State Young Reader's Award - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
PW Notes and Reprints 07/01/2002 pg. 82
Booksense '76 Childrens Fall02 08/01/2002 pg. 1
Kliatt 11/01/2002 pg. 20
Publishers Weekly 07/08/2002
Entertainment Weekly 11/14/2014 pg. 111

About the Author
Pam Muñoz Ryan is the recipient of the Newbery Honor Medal and the Kirkus Prize for her New York Times bestselling novel, Echo, as well as the NEA's Human and Civil Rights Award and the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award for multicultural literature for her body of work. Her celebrated novels, Echo, Esperanza Rising, The Dreamer, Riding Freedom, Becoming Naomi Léon, and Paint the Wind, have received countless accolades, among them two Pura Belpré Awards, a NAPPA Gold Award, a Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and two Américas Awards. Her acclaimed picture books include Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride and When Marian Sang, both illustrated by Brian Selznick, and Tony Baloney, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham, as well as a beginning reader series featuring Tony Baloney. Ryan lives near San Diego, California, with her family.