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This is a story about a boy called Francisco and his family which lives in “El Rancho Blanco”, Mexico, they are a common South American family, but they don’t like to live in South America any more, Papa, the father has the idea to leave Mexico, and pass “La frontera”, which means frontier, it divides Mexico from the United States. The boy´s older brother is called Roberto, the only thing he likes from “El Rancho Blanco” is to hunt chicken eggs, and go to church on Sundays, while Francisco likes to hear stories from his uncle Mauricio. Their journey to Guadalajara starts; they took a train, and it was a long way to ride, two days to be exactly. That night after they arrived, they went to the wire fence and crawled around it to pass to the other side of the frontier, when they did a woman was waiting for them to take them to a labor camp. They couldn’t work on the straw berries for two weeks, so they where frustrated. His father hunted birds and other stuff with a rifle a neighbor lend him, while the kids spent their time watching as the trains ran their way, and her mom was busy in the kitchen cooking what her husband hunted. The boys had a favorite train, it was faster than the others, and had different whistling, also its driver was a kind man that waved his hands to the boys, and they waved them back. One afternoon he threw a brown bag to them, they went to grab the bag and it was full of oranges, apples, and candies. One morning they went to pick up cotton, but Francisco had to stay in the car taking care of Trampita, his six month little brother. Francisco was anxious to see his parents coming back, when they did, they all started to eat some tacos his mom had prepared. Finally, when they finished eating they got back to work. Francisco wanted to help, so he started practicing to pick up cotton shells, but at the end of the day he was disappointed because he didn’t had the strength to pick them up, his finger nails blooded and hurt him, so he decided to put lumps on the sack so it was heavier to make it more expensive, and get more money. He thought his parents were going to be proud, but the opposite, they were disappointed because it wasn’t honest so his father threw the lumps away.
Roberto and Francisco started school, Roberto had failed a year because he didn’t knew how to talk English, neither did Francisco but they went to the buss and when they arrived they went to talk with Mr. Sims the principal of the school and he took Francisco to his class. Miss Scalapino and Mr. Sims started talking, and Francisco didn’t understand anything they were talking about. Francisco took a sit on a desk and started watching a caterpillar, and every time someone looked at him he looked at that caterpillar. Class started, and Francisco didn’t understand English so that caused him a headache, the only time he understood something was when the teacher started reading a book with images.
OPINION:
I thought I wouldn’t like this book, that it would be boring, but it’s entertaining, but I have a question, would it happen something to his father, I think it will, I predict a bad thing is going to happen to his father, that idea has been in my mind sense they were being drove by that woman, I think the migra will catch them. While I read I have the impression that I am Francisco and I feel upset because in school I am supposed to learn, but how will I learn something if I don’t understand what are they talking about, it’s a waste of time, maybe instead of going to school to waste his time, I think he would be more useful if he went to pick up cotton, or help his mother.
PAGE 17 – 44
Francisco was not getting any better at school due to his lack of English so he couldn’t understand to Miss Scalapino, when she started reading books to the class he made up his own stories, because they had images so that turn things easier to Francisco. He didn’t had too much friends, there was a big, strong and popular boy called Curtis, he wasn’t his friend, a boy called Arthur was his only friend, Arthur knew a little bit of Spanish. One morning Francisco didn’t took his jacket to school so he was freezing. Mr. Sims noticed that and took him to his office and gave him a camouflage jacket, Francisco took it home and showed to his parents, but that jacket was going to be a problem, because that was Curtis jacket, he had lost it, and when he saw Francisco with it he stepped on Francisco and started to hit him and trying to take the jacket away from Francisco, he acted like this not because it was his jacket or he was cold, he didn’t wanted Francisco to have it and that cause the jacket to damage. Miss Scalapino intervened and punished Francisco and Curtis, Curtis stayed with the jacket but never wear it. Francisco took home a note Miss Scalapino wrote to his parents, and though they could not read they knew what it said at looking Francisco`s wounds, they were very upset for that. Francisco got over it as time passed, the caterpillar became a cocoon. Francisco`s favorite class was art, he drew all kind of animals, but mostly caterpillars, and birds. Days before school year finished Miss Scalapino gave Francisco a blue ribbon with golden letters on it, and showed a beautiful drawing he had made, all the class was amazed with the drawing specially Curtis so Francisco gave it to him.
Francisco`s mom was about to give birth so they made an extreme make over to their tent for the baby`s arrival. When the baby was born, their mom called him Juan Manuel, but Francisco called him Torito, because he was very strong, and Torito calmed down Francisco because he was going to repeat Miss Scalapino`s class. Torito was very sick at the start, he had fever, and he started getting worse, sometimes it seemed he was dead but don’t. Doña María was known it the Tent city (As they call the farm) la curandera, kind of a nurse, but instead of curing Torito he got him worse he seemed to be dead but they took him to the hospital and the doctor told his parents, he wouldn`t survive, that it will be a miracle if he did. Francisco`s parents keep what the doctor said from the kids, their parents had promised god to pray every day for a year to Jesus for Torito`s health, they did and Torito was much better so Francisco`s parents told them what the doctor said, it was a miracle.
OPINION:
I was wrong about my prediction, and actually I liked these chapters much more than the last ones, I think Torito is going to be really attached to Francisco, and Francisco will be very attached to Torito. I think Francisco it’s going to start a really good friendship with Curtis. I think Francisco’s parents are very irresponsible, they don’t have money, and if one child needs money, what about four, and I suppose that in the future they will have more than four children, the right thing to do is to get a better economy, and then have more children.
PAGE 44-60
It was raining allot during the cotton season so there was not too much things to do, some people told ghost stories from other migrants and Francisco was tired of hearing the same stories so he and his mom started looking at a gold fish, and they called him “El angel de oro.” That raining was a problem for Francisco`s dad, because if the cotton was wet no one would pick them up so he decided that if it continued raining like that they will need to find other work, and another place to live. Francisco met a boy called Miguelito; he was two years older than Francisco, he studied on the same school Francisco did, and he understood and spoke English. They decided to be together on recess, and to leave from school together, when the school day was over; they played on puddles so they got dirty. Francisco`s tent was number ten and Miguelito`s was number twenty, they decided to spend time together after they went home, Francisco`s family wasn`t there so he started looking at the gold fish, then he moved closer and sat on a rock next to the creek, then suddenly Miguelito appeared and asked him if he would like to fish them, and after Francisco answered he took two branches and told Francisco that those would be their fishing poles, and the next day they would finish them. There was no next day for Francisco and Miguelito`s activity because Miguelito didn’t went school, and neither at home, he and his family were gone.
Christmas was near and a couple came to Francisco`s tent to sell a handkerchief, and a wallet, but they didn´t bought anything. They where moving out of that cotton farm, they searched for work in another place and they found it, it was another cotton farm and his family; Mom, Dad, Roberto, Trampita, Torito, his younger brother Rubén and Francisco where sleeping all together because it was a cold place. Francisco was disappointed, but he also understood why his parents gave him a candy and not the ball he was wishing, and his mom received the handkerchief, the couple was selling.
Francisco`s best friend was a parrot whose name was “El Perico”, his family was working for Mr. Jacobson’s vineyards, so Francisco pastime was to teach “El Perico” to talk. Francisco and his family had neighbors that had a cat called “Catarina” who was a el perico`s best friend, when the couple visited Francisco`s family without Catarina, El Perico became upset, and one time the couple went to Francisco`s house without Catarina, so El Perico began acting crazy, and that scene caused Francisco`s dad to kill the parrot. Francisco fled of the house for a while, and at the next morning they put the parrot in a cigarette box and buried like two feet deep, and all days before they moved out Francisco went to visit “El Perico.”
OPINION:
I think Francisco has passed through hard times; well he lost his pet, his friends, and the school in which he was improving. At this point of the book is when I realize that maybe they were better in “El rancho Blanco”, Mexico, I understand what was passing Francisco through, when he buried his parrot, I also buried my first dog last year, his name was “Pirulo” I love animals, and it doesn’t matter that Pirulo wasn’t a breed dog, I loved him, I think life is about loving yourself, and loving the neighbor. At this point, I also realize of what I have, I have more than what I need, Francisco didn’t got the Christmas present he was expecting, he received a candy, but he understood that his parents were broke so they couldn´t give him the soccer ball he wanted. I think next chapters are going to be about a new life in other place much better, as in the other readings we are going to find another brother or sister, Roberto will start selling drugs, and Francisco will try to take him to the right path but he wouldn`t listen and one day they will find him death or in a prison.
PAGE 60 – 83
Francisco`s family left Mr. Jacobson`s vine farms and went to work on a cotton farm again, they lived in a dwelling all six together, and they all slept in one bed; Dad, Mom, Roberto, Francisco, Trampita, Torito, Rubén, and Rorra their new little sister to keep warm. Francisco`s dad pulled out three sacks, Francisco wanted to work, but he couldn´t because his dad told him he was still little to work, Francisco was very upset. The “contratista” went to their dwelling; he showed them the cotton field, Trampita stayed on the car taking care of Torito, Rubén, and Rorra. Francisco`s dad was taking a look to the cotton and finally he decided it was a very good cotton, “They are beautiful, but can heart you.” He said comparing the cotton with roses. All of the pickers had sacks except for Francisco; he was the only one without one. Francisco helped their parents picking some cotton; he didn’t need to help Roberto because he was faster and stronger than his parents. Their pay consisted on how much pounds it weighted their harvest; they weigh it in the weigh station. The “contratista” told them that they could work on “La bola”; it consisted on picking up what was left from the harvest; shells, leaves, etc.
Francisco started school with Trampita and sometimes they expended time with their little brothers on free time. Roberto, Dad and Francisco went to look for another cotton farm while the other one was recovering cotton. They found one and started working on it immediately, Francisco took this as opportunity to show his dad he was strong enough to own a sack, but he couldn`t in seconds his toes and his hands were freezing so he decided to pee on it but it was a waste of time he couldn`t work more so his dad told Roberto to take Francisco to a bonfire to get some warm.
Francisco started sixth grade while Roberto was upset because he couldn’t study unless the strawberry season was over .Francisco`s best friend was his teacher Mr. Lema, when Francisco first entered school Mr. Lema asked him to read the page 125 of a book, but Francisco couldn’t due to his lack of English, sense that day Francisco stayed with Mr. Lema on lunch recess to improve his English, Mr. Lema also wanted Francisco to learn how to play trumpet, he was very excited and when he got home he expected to tell his parents about that, but the only think he saw was his family`s stuff packed up.
OPINION:
This book it’s starting to be confusing, one day Francisco has three brothers, and at the other day he has five, and also one day they are working on a cotton field, at the other day they are working on a strawberries field, then a vineyard, and again a cotton field. These changes of places are not healthy for children, because that will affect incontinently to their organization and there would not be an established order. I`ll give an example; let’s suppose Torito has a wife, he looks another woman that’s much prettier than his wife so he decides to leave his wife and stay with the other, and that will repeat to much times. It`s also bad because Francisco would be changing of school too often, and when you change of school, you need to change of learning method, and finally Francisco wouldn´t know which learning method helps him more. My last predictions not all met, but I approved when I say Francisco was going to have a sister, but my other guess wasn´t right, and I think what I said of Roberto being a drug dealer it`s going to accomplish on the next reading.
PAGE 84-134
Francisco didn´t wanted vacations to start, because that meant ten weeks picking up strawberries in Santa Maria, he was in Miss Logan class and she asked the class what where they going to do on vacation, everybody was going in trips, leaving the country, but Francisco had to work. Francisco had a neighbor called Carlos, he was the kind of people that liked to show off his muscles, they created a game called kick the can and he played it with Carlos, Trampita, Torito and Rubén. Carlos didn’t wanted Manuelito to play, because he said he was very slow, and one day Francisco got tired of Carlos because he didn´t let Manuelito play, so he didn’t played and his brothers stopped playing too they didn’t wanted to play if their brother wasn’t playing either, so finally Carlos let Manuelito play and they all had a wonderful afternoon. Francisco`s dad, Roberto and him had a new working partner called Gabriel, he didn`t knew how to harvest strawberries but he learned quickly from Francisco`s dad, they all became good friends but one day Francisco and Gabriel where asked to go to another field next to Itos`s field to help, when they got there Gabriel and then contratista had a physic and spoken fight and at the other day Gabriel was deported and went to Mexico again.
Francisco had a pennies collection, some of them were ones his father gave him, one of those pennies was important because it was a 1910 Lincoln head penny it was made the same year his farther was born, and the same year the Mexican revolution started, his father didn’t knew much but he knew a little of that story and he also added that his mom, Francisco´s grandmother, participated on it, not on the violent events but she participated on the revolution. Francisco had another special penny, a 1865 Indian head penny, his friend Carl gave it to him, both where friends at Corcoran school but when they realized that both collected pennies they became the best of the friends, but of course that wouldn´t last because Francisco´s parents decided that they will move to “Santa Maria” again. They were on their way to Santa Maria when Francisco remembered all of this. Francisco also had a note pad he found on “City dump” and on it he wrote everything he wanted to, he was always with it. Francisco was on Miss Martin´s sixth grade class, he didn´t enjoyed allot because he didn’t understood very good English, and her class work was to make students search for a word on their dictionaries, Francisco was the last one searching for a word, so he started writing every word of the dictionary on the note pad with its definition so he could remember learn them by heart, but he didn´t just wrote dictionary words, he also wrote grammar rules, and while he was picking grapes, or picking cotton he studied the grammar and the dictionary words.
One night before his mom and his little sister “Rorra” where back from buying supplies from the purchase store Francisco asked his mom if she had any pennies for his collection, he gave him some but when he took his pennies box, it was empty, he was very upset, but when he realized that Rorra was the one who took them to buy some candy, he wasn’t upset any more, he was on fire, he was very angry, he wanted to kill her but his mother calmed him when she told him a story about an ant and a donkey. But those pennies were not the only ones that were going to disappear, one night Roberto, his dad and Francisco came from “Texaco” the gas station, they went there because they needed Kerosene for the kitchen, it smelled like gasoline, but his father thought it was cheap Kerosene, so they refilled the stove, but Roberto was right, it was gasoline, so the house was on fire, the note pad was inside the house, Francisco remembered that very late he tried to enter the house but his dad wouldn´t let him it was late.
They were on Corcoran picking up cotton, his father was very sick, so the only one working was Roberto because Francisco, Trampita, and Torito were on school, and his mom, Rorra and Ruben where at home because they were too young for going school so they stayed home taking care of his dad. Francisco and Trampita helped Roberto on weekends to pick “la bola” the leftovers of the first season, it wasn’t a very good pay but money is money, finally they decided to move to “Santa Maria” again, everyone was excited, it was a five hour trip, but for Francisco it was a five day trip he was very anxious, when they arrived they didn’t took very long getting set up. Roberto needed to work on something with better pay; Mr. Sims helped him to get a work at the school as the janitor, Francisco helped Roberto as he memorized the Declaration of Independence, it was the project Miss. Elhis gave his class and they needed to memorized it by Friday, each day Francisco memorized a line and the day he was supposed to presented he sat at the first desk of the first row, that meant he had a good score on his English class, but Mr. Denevi, the principal, was at the door with the border patrol looking for Francisco, he sat at the front seat of the border patrol of Mexico, and they headed to Santa Maria High School for Roberto.
OPINION:
I didn’t thought this book was going to end like this, but in a certain way I think the person that cheated on the was Mr. Sims, he was the only one who knew where Roberto worked, I connect this because he was the only one who helped them and why not to be the one who arrest them, this world is not like a fairy tale history, and in this chapter I realized that the author of the book is Francisco Jimenez he wrote this book telling his story I liked pretty much this book.