Multicultural: Going Home

 

Going Home

Author: Eve Bunting

Illustrator: David Diaz

Genre: Multicultural

Grade Level: 2-3

Are you from or do you have family in another country? Do you have a place that you love or miss? Have you ever had to sacrifice something you love? In Going Home, Eve Bunting addresses difficult issues such as immigration, importance of culture, and parents’ unconditional love for their children.

            Bunting tells the story of Carlos, a Mexican boy living in the U.S. whose family travels to their “home” of La Perla, Mexico for Christmas. At first, Carlos and his siblings are reluctant to visit their unfamiliar relatives, fearing that their family will not be let back in to the United States. When noticing his mother’s nostalgic attachment and unmistakable pride for Mexico, Carlos is confused as to why his parents left home, chose such a difficult life, and have to return to the U.S. Once in the country, Carlos observes the distinct differences between the United States and Mexico, like sheep in the road, small but beautiful villages, and stone-covered streets. After visiting with his relatives and spending time with Christmas festivities, Carlos feels a sense of comfort in his newfound “home country”. In the middle of the night, Carlos and his siblings catch their parents dancing in the street with no music by themselves, where he finally understands his parent’s sacrifice of a place they love so their children can have “opportunities”.

Diaz’s efforts to capture the warmth found in a small Mexican village through illustrations add to the overall themes of the story. These illustrations engage children while they listen, as well as compliment the compassionate essence of the story line. With brightly painted pictures and detailed drawings, the reader can visualize what it was like for young Carlos to experience the rue Mexican culture for the first time. These illustrations can help students understand the difference of our familiar American culture and the vibrant culture of Mexico.

            Although Bunting is of Irish decent, she skillfully crafts a multicultural story much different than her own. The facts she presents prove to be accurate with Mexican culture, containing Spanish words, the hard work on labor fields in America, and the sacrifice of moving from their beloved hometown. Diaz’s illustrations create an even more accurate story, depicting what Mexico actually looks like. From this book, students can easily get a sense of the meaning of a Mexican culture. Bunting succeeds in writing with a lack of stereotypical jargon in this book. In fact, Bunting’s realistic language and emotional style make it effortless for the reader to identify with Carlos and his problems.

 Aside from beautifully connecting the reader to Carlos’s story, Bunting includes a subtle form of bias in this book. Carlos and his family work on a “camp”, exerting long hours on a farm just over the border with many other Mexican Americans. They do not even own their own house, but instead, Mr. Culloden, the labor manager owns it as long as they “work the crops” for him. Small details such as these are indeed realistic, but may simultaneously be a stereotype of Mexican Americans. Why couldn’t Carlos’s family live in the city? Did his parents have to work on a farm or could they work in an office? Questions like these lead me to think that different details in Going Home may have made this story slightly less stereotypical.

            Teachers will have no trouble incorporating this book into their classroom. Being a multicultural book, Going Home brings to the table difficult conversations about equality, immigration, and different cultures. Many underlying themes are present as well, such as sacrifice, especially when Carlos’s parents sacrifice living an easier life in Mexico to benefit their children. Teachers can even introduce the importance of education, which is ultimately why Carlos’s parents had immigrated to America. Students can identify with their own culture by asking parents and grandparents about a “special part” of their heritage/culture.

             

            Connections to the MA ELA Frameworks can be made through 7(Beginning Reading), 8 (Understanding a Text), 11(Theme) and 12 (Fiction).