Ofelia
Dumas Lachtman. Call Me Consuelo. Arte Publico Press (1997), 149 pages.
This story tells the story of
Consuelo after the passing of her parents.
Consuelo is forced to move from her home in Dos Palos, where her Mexican
culture flourishes, to Los Angelos, with her grandmother. At first, she is naturally uncomfortable, but
slowly she begins to start making friends and fitting in with her new
friends. Through the discovery of armed burglars,
Consuelo and her friends begin take it upon themselves to figure out exactly
what the robbers are up to, and in the middle of all of this, Consuelo begins
to enjoy her new surroundings, though still resisting pressure to be completely
assimilated and forget her unique heritage.
This is a great story of the many
tensions associated with coming into a new community, and the struggle that
many immigrants face when coming to America.
Two great themes of this book are definitely identity and coping with
change. This book also has illustrations
which can provide struggling/transitioning readers with an additional source of
amusement, but even more, these can be great conversation starters and sources
for lessons to discuss imagery and allow student to come up with their own
quotes or scenarios. This is definitely for younger children, perhaps grades 4,
5, or 6—so, I really wouldn’t teach this book thought it may be interesting for
extremely younger kids.
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