The Circuit

subtitled, "Stories from the life of a migrant child"
by Francisco Jimenez
hardcover, CMSW, 134 pages

What a beautiful but sad collection of stories about a family of Mexican migrant workers. Francisco is four years younger than his brother Roberto, and alternates between the little boy job of watching younger siblings and the grown-up job of working the fields. His joy in going to school is tempered by the challenges of trying to learn in six months what other students get nine months to learn.

The most heart-breaking point of this book for me was when his notebook burned in the house fire. The disappointments and frustrations were tangible. This is a beautifully written book!