Journey of Dreams
Thirteen-year-old Tomasa’s K’iche’ Indian family live in the highlands of Guatemala, where the government campaign against indigenous peoples is intensifying—and terrifying. After Tomasa’s older brother narrowly escapes conscription, he and her mother—who has publicly criticized the government and growers for toxic spraying in nearby fields—must disappear for their own safety. Shortly after, the village is firebombed. It happens on the very morning Tomasa, her little brother and baby sister, and her father have bid a painful farewell to her grandmother so they, too, can escape. That head start saves their lives in a tense story that follows the journey of Tomasa’s family out of the mountains and north to Mexico. Set in 1984, Marge Pellegrino’s novel gives a sense of those harrowing times in a story grounded in Tomasa’s perspective—full of fear for their lives, longing for her mother and brother, and relief when she and her family find refuge with the Sanctuary Movement. Vivid details, such as clean clothes and the chance to play—pleasures that are lost and tentatively reclaimed—bring this story of refugees running for their lives into full relief. ©2009 Cooperative Children's Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 10-13
Age Range:
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
20th Century
Fear
Guatemalans and Guatemalan Americans
Historical Fiction
Refugees
Diversity subjects:
Indigenous
Latine
Publisher:
Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Publish Year: 2009
Pages: 250
ISBN: 9781847800619
CCBC Location: Fiction, Pellegrino