Last week’s Perfect Picture Book, Something, Someday involved one child’s efforts to beautify their neighborhood. Keeping with that theme, today’s Perfect Picture Book recounts the efforts of a community working together, seen through the eyes of a fictional young girl. Enjoy!
Title: Barrio Rising: The Protest that Built Chicano Park
Written By: Maria Dolores Águila
Illustrated By: Magdalena Mora
Publisher/Date: Dial Books for Young Readers/2024
Suitable for Ages: 4-8
Themes/Topics: urban renewal, Chicane history, social activism, historical fiction
Opening:
Down by the bay, past the tortilleria and near the iglesia, Mami and I live in a little casita. Jacaranda blossoms snap underfoot as we walk to the tiendita to buy masa and corn husks for tamales.
Brief Synopsis: When the city of San Diego plans to build a police station on land promised for a park, the citizens of a Chicane neighborhood and the young narrator protest, occupy the land, and build the park themselves.
Links to Resources:
- Check out these Educator Resources at Águila’s website;
- Visit a local park and, if possible, discover its history;
- Learn more about Chicano Park and its history in the back matter.
Why I Like this Book:
Told from the point-of-view of a fictitious child living in Barrio Logan, Águila shows readers the upsides of living in the Barrio, a section of San Diego, and the downside, including the freeways, loud traffic, junkyards, and industrial waste that surrounded it. Through Elena’s eyes and through Mora’s colorful illustrations, readers see and feel this dichotomy, and they dream, with Elena, of the park that the city promised to build for this close-knit community.
But when Elena, her mother, and the other residents learned that the city planned to build a police station instead of a park, everyone rushed to the building site, joined hands, and surrounded the construction vehicles. A non-violent protest and a 12-day occupation of the site ensued. Community members also began building the park themselves, covering the freeway pylons with murals and covering barren soil with plants.
Although Elena is a fictional character, the protest and occupation of the land that became Chicano Park are real: the protest and sit-in began on April 22, 1970, and the resulting park with its colorful murals exists to this day. Sadly, many of us may not have heard of the fight to create the park nor of its existence and importance to the Chicane neighborhood. This new picture book will, I hope, change that.
For those of us desiring to learn the real history of our country, for those interested in the acts of civil disobedience that brought about positive change, and for those who desire to see people like themselves in books, speaking a mixture of Spanish and English, I highly recommend Barrio Rising. I hope it finds its way into many classrooms, libraries, and homes.
A Note about Craft:
Águila wrote Barrio Rising as a work of historical fiction, rather than as a pure non-fiction story. This enabled her to bring a child’s perspective to this history and make it more relatable to child listeners, when, presumably, resources about young participants were lacking. This decision also enabled Águila to tell the story using first-person point-of-view, which helps readers feel like we’re there during the protest.
This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!
Wander, Ponder, Write 