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Summary
Summary
In this moving and timely story, a young child describes what it is like to be a migrant as she and her father travel north toward the US border.
They travel mostly on the roof of a train known as The Beast, but the little girl doesn't know where they are going. She counts the animals by the road, the clouds in the sky, the stars. Sometimes she sees soldiers. She sleeps, dreaming that she is always on the move, although sometimes they are forced to stop and her father has to earn more money before they can continue their journey.
As many thousands of people, especially children, in Mexico and Central America continue to make the arduous journey to the US border in search of a better life, this is an important book that shows a young migrant's perspective.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
Author Notes
Jairo Buitrago is a children's book author who has collaborated with Rafael Yockteng on several picture books, including Jimmy the Greatest! (six starred reviews), Two White Rabbits (three starred reviews) and Walk with Me (three starred reviews, Kirkus Prize shortlist). They won the "A la Orilla del Viento" contest for the Spanish edition of Walk with Me, which was also named to IBBY's Honor List. Their books have also appeared on "Los mejores libros del año" (Venezuela's Banco del Libro), Kirkus Best Books, the Horn Book Fanfare and in the White Ravens Catalogue. Jairo lives in Mexico City.
Rafael Yockteng has illustrated many highly acclaimed children's books, including Sopa de frijoles / Bean Soup by Jorge Argueta (USBBY Outstanding International Books) and Jimmy the Greatest! (six starred reviews), Two White Rabbits (three starred reviews), Walk with Me (three starred reviews, Kirkus Prize shortlist) and On the Other Side of the Garden (three starred reviews) by Jairo Buitrago. Together, Jairo Buitrago and Rafael Yockteng have won the "A la Orilla del Viento" contest, and their books have been included on IBBY's Honor List, "Los mejores libros del año" (Venezuela's Banco del Libro), Kirkus Best Books, the Horn Book Fanfare and in the White Ravens Catalogue. Rafael lives in Bogotá.
Elisa Amado is a Guatemalan-born author and translator. Her books have been on the Américas Award Commended List and on USBBY's Outstanding International Books List. She lives in Toronto.Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Hope and hardship coexist in this haunting look at refugees fleeing home in hopes of a safer, more secure life. While strongly suggestive of Mexico, the setting is never mentioned explicitly, nor are the reasons why the young narrator and her father are traveling. For the girl, counting-chickens on the side of the road, people encamped by train tracks-offers a stability that her day-to-day life cannot; numbers are constant, even when you're always on the move. On every step of their journey, which includes fording a muddy river on rafts built on rubber tires and riding atop a rusted-out train, they are joined by a narrow-eyed coyote, a visual metaphor for those who smuggle migrants and refugees across borders, not always with good intentions. Colored in drab browns and blues, Yockteng's illustrations emphasize the closeness between father and daughter without downplaying the dangers they face. Buitrago and Yockteng (who previously collaborated on Jimmy the Greatest!) leave the family's story open-ended, powerfully underscoring the idea that there are few certainties in the life of a refugee. Ages 4-7. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
A girl and her father travel by foot, by raft, and by train. As they travel, the girl counts the things she sees: "I count the people who live by the train tracks." Originally published in Spanish, this quiet picture book highlights the experience of a child refugee or immigrant; Yockteng's contemplative graphic illustrations clearly depict the pain, frustration, and boredom of the journey. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
The pace is fittingly slow in this quiet immigration story. Short sentences, interrupted by the silence of wordless two-page spreads, seem to match the steady tread of the girl and her father as they travel on foot, by raft, and atop trains, moving day and night through deserts and fields. Traveling, we quickly learn, is a euphemism for the journey of immigration, but it only thinly disguises the arduous nature of this pair's trek. Details in the illustrations belie the neutrality of the text. The girl amuses herself by counting things she sees along the way, and it seems this is a journey she has taken before. She does not know where they are going, and no one will tell her. Older readers will appreciate the allegory, and younger ones the simplicity of this spare immigration tale. The digital illustrations use saturated earth tones to render these anonymous people beautifully real. Though they have no names or a place to call home, there is no doubt that they count.--Chaudhri, Amina Copyright 2015 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-A young girl and her father face challenges together as they move from place to place. They travel by foot and by train and are happy to catch a ride with passersby when they can. Sometimes their journey is delayed (or derailed) when they must stop because of soldiers or if father has to earn more money to continue along their way. Told entirely through the sensibility of the child, the narration informs readers that "the people who are taking us don't always take us where we are going." The young girl passes the time by counting the interesting items she sees such as animals, people, clouds, and stars. She is very curious about where they are headed, but never receives an answer to her query. Yet, she is content because she has her daddy and her two white rabbits. This simple, yet poignant picture book beautifully illustrates the life of one migrating family. Set in Central America or Mexico, it shows the arduous journey north to the United States in search of a better life. This book is a great tool for introducing immigration, and can be appreciated on many levels. The digitally created illustrations are detailed and full of expression, telling a story of love, struggle, and determination. VERDICT An important and timely picture book for every library collection.-Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
"When we travel, I count what we see," this little girl tells readers. She counts hens, cows, "one little bored donkey," and a russet mutt that her father calls a chucho and that joins the two on the road. That one Spanish word and a sign for the frontera constitute some of the few textual clues to the pair's circumstances. Adult readers will see Latin American migrants, probably without papers to judge by the raft they ride across the river and the soldiers they flee. Children will see an adventure that's sometimes thrilling, sometimes boring, sometimes terrifyinghow much will depend on how familiar readers are with this perilous trek, but even those from the coziest of homes will detect some. They ride atop boxcars, and they stop while Pap works to make money for the next leg of the journey. They are dark-skinned; their fellow migrants range from pale to dark. The only constants are the chucho, the girl's stuffed bunny, "the way people we meet on the road look at us," and the current of affection that runs between father and daughter. The story does not conclude; it simply ends with the companions "back on the road," now with the titular rabbits. Like the creators' previous book, Jimmy the Greatest (2012), it's a masterpiece of understatement. In leaving readers with much to wonder about, the book packs the most powerful of punches. (Picture book. 4-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
"Where are we going?" I ask sometimes, but no one answers. We wait by the side of the highway. We aren't traveling right now. There is a boy. I count -- one -- there isn't any other. Papá works while we wait like we do almost every day. The boy stays with me. We count the cars that are going by, the dogs that are going by, but I don't think the boy knows how to count very well. I show him my clouds. The ones that have shapes. And he shows me his box. There are two white rabbits in it. Excerpted from Two White Rabbits by Jairo Buitrago All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
