Introduction
Main Directory
For Answer Key Click Link
Book Title: Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
ISBN: 0-439-57617-2
This is one of those "must read books" that your child needs to read before graduating middle school. It is a great story of perseverance. The older your child is when reading this book, the more he/she will appreciate the story.
Chapter 1 Las Uvas
1. How old was Esperanza in Chapter 1?
2. Where did the story take place?
3. What was the name of the ranch?
4. What were the names of Esperanza’s parents?
5. Who is Esperanza’s best friend? (A)
6. What occupation was A’s father?
7. What time period was this? 19______
8. How many years has passed after the Mexican Revolution?
9. The author writes that some peasants were so poor that they had to eat ________.
10. Why do you think abuelita wore black dresses?
11. When abuelita said the metaphor, “No hay rosa sin espinas. There is no rose without thorns,” she was trying to say what?
12. Who was Hortensia?
13. Who was Alfonso?
14. Who was Miguel?
15. What did the author mean by writing that between Miguel & Esperanza “ran a deep river”?
16. Who were Tio Luis and Tio Marco?
17. What type of job did Tio Luis have?
18. What type of job did Tio Marco have?
19. What was the reason that Tio Marco and Tio Luis weren’t married?
20. What happened to Esperanza’s father?
Chapter 2 Las Papayas
1. How did Esperanza’s father die?
2. Who is Señor Rodriguez?
3. What did Señor Rodriguez deliver? (A)
4. What were the A’s for?
5. How long did the funeral last?
6. Esperanza noticed, on page 30, Tio Luis wearing her father’s belt buckle. What do you think this meant?
7. What did the lawyer tell Esperanza’s mother that she inherited?
8. Who inherited the land?
9. Did Tio Luis offer to buy the house from Esperanza’s mother?
10. Did Tio Luis propose to Esperanza’s mother?
11. Was Esperanza’s mother offended by Tio Luis’s proposal?
12. On page 36, Miguel says, “My father and I have lost faith in our country. We were born servants here and no matter how hard we work we will always be servants.” How does this make you feel for them?
Chapter 3 Los Higos
1. What happened to Esperanza’s house? (A)
2. Who rescued abuelita from the burning house?
3. What happened to the grapevines?
4. Who do you think arranged the fire?
5. What did Tio Luis say to Esperanza when he visited the next morning after the fire?
6. What did he, Tio Luis, say about boarding schools?
7. Did Esperanza’s mother accept Tio Luis’s marriage proposal?
Chapter 4 Las Guayabas
1. What did Señor Rodriguez give them to escape? (A)
2. Where are they taking A to?
3. Why do the women have to hide in the wagon?
4. What event did Hortensia start talking about to help Esperanza relax?
5. What did Miguel get as a reward for being brave during that event?
6. How many days did it take them to get to Zacatecas?
7. Describe the setting in the train cart they had to travel in.
8. On page 67, the author writes, “When she [Esperanza] went to town, she was escorted and hurried around any beggars. And the peasants always kept their distance. That was simply the way it was.” What does the author mean by this?
9. What do you think was in the package that Miguel & Alfonso would dampen in every stop?
10. What did Miguel say you needed in Mexico to get a job?
11. On page 75, Esperanza was thinking the following, “I hear that in the United States, you do not need una palanca. That even the poorest man can become rich if he works hard enough.” Palanca means a connection for employment. Ask your parents if they agree with Esperanza’s thoughts.
Chapter 5- Los Melones
1. What city or town did the train stop?
2. What happened at the train station?
3. Why did Esperanza’s mother heart arche at the border?
4. Did Miguel & Alfonso almost miss the train?
5. What were they [Miguel & Alfonso] doing that they almost missed the train?
6. At what city did they unboard the train? (A)
7. Who was waiting for them?
8. What month did they arrive to A?
9. What type of vehicle did they board?
10. On page 88, the author mentions the San Fernando Valley. Do you think this is the San Fernando Valley we live at?
11. Isabel mentioned that they lived in a tent. What do you think your life would be like if you lived in a tent?
12. What was the name of the girl that got on the truck in the San Joaquin Valley? (B)
13. What did B, on page 96, mean by “So you’re a princess who’s come to be a peasant? Where’s all your finery?”
14. How did B’s father die?
15. What did Isabel, on page 98, mean by “They don’t mix us.”?
16. What are “jamaicas”?
17. Did Esperanza like Marta?
Extra Credit
• In the book “Esperanza Rising,” on page 97-98, Isabel points to camps that the workers were Filipinos, Japanese, and from Oklahoma. Research the different ethnic groups that are migrant farm workers in California. In other words, from which country or state do people migrate to California to work in the fields?
• Research the name “Okies” from Oklahoma. How did they get this name?
Chapter 6- Las Cebollas
1. Esperanza’s description of the cabins was “that they weren’t even as nice as the servants’ cabins in Aguascalientes. They reminded Esperanza more of the horse stalls on the ranch than of a place for people to live.” Is this a paradox?
2. On page 103, Esperanza shouts to her mother. “Mama, we are living like horses! How can you sing? How can you be happy? We don’t even have a room to call our own.” Do you think Esperanza is correct to say this?
3. What is Esperanza’s job on the first day?
4. What is Isabel’s job?
5. What is Alfonso’s job?
6. What is Juan’s job?
7. What is Hortensia’s job?
8. What is Josefina’s job?
9. What is Ramona’s job?
10. Who is Hortensia?
11. Who is Alfonso?
12. Who is Josefina?
13. Who is Juan?
14. Who is Juan related to?
15. Who is Isabel?
16. What were the names of the twins?
17. Who were the twins’ parents?
18. What was Esperanza’s camp job?
19. Where did Miguel leave to find work?
20. What type of work did Miguel go looking for?
21. Who was Silvia?
22. Did Miguel find work at the railroad yards?
23. What type of work did Miguel say Mexicans were being hired for?
24. What type of work did Miguel say Mexicans weren’t being hired for?
Chapter 7- Las Almendras
1. What did Miguel & Alfonso bring back from Aguascaliente?
2. What did Josefina say would happen if they strike?
Chapter 8- Las Ciruelas
1. Where did Isabel go early in the morning?
2. What did Esperanza feed the children?
3. What happened to the babies a few hours after Esperanza fed them lunch?
4. What needed to be picked before the first fall rains?
5. How many days a week did everyone have to work?
6. What was the temperature like?
7. What day did Melina tell Esperanza it was?
8. Was Esperanza worried that her mother might strike?
9. What hit the camp?
10. What was the name of Isabel’s kitten?
11. Was there a strike after all?
12. What happened to the cotton fields?
13. How long did they take to harvest the grapes?
14. Did Esperanza’s mother get sick?
15. What illness does Esperanza’s mother have? (A)
16. What is A? Try and explain it
17. On page 156, Esperanza asks the doctor, “How long until she (her mom) is well?” What was the doctor’s response?
Chapter 9
1. The doctor returned a few weeks later and said what?
2. Where did the doctor say Esperanza’s mother needs to go? (A)
3. Who drove Esperanza’s mother to A?
4. What was Esperanza’s idea to get her grandmother to the San Joaquin Valley?
5. What did Marta’s aunt tell Josefina about striking?
6. What are their fears if they strike?
7. What are their fears if they don’t strike?
8. What did Esperanza tell Isabel she wanted for Christmas?
9. What did Isabel want for Christmas?
10. On page 176, Esperanza stared into the dark. “Isabel had nothing, but she also had everything. Esperanza wanted what she had. She wanted so few worries that something as simple as a yarn doll would make her happy.” In your perspective, what did the author try to say?
11. What did Esperanza say to her mom as she left the hospital?
Chapter 10- Los Aguacates
1. What days did Esperanza visit her mother?
2. What did the doctor tell Esperanza her mother contacted?
3. By now, Esperanza’s mother had been in the hospital for _______ months and Esperanza hadn’t been allowed to visit for ___________________ weeks.
4. What was the name of the market owner?
5. What did Esperanza buy at the market?
6. Who did they see walking along the road on their way back from the market? (A&B)
7. Where did Miguel drive A&B to? (C)
8. Describe C’s location?
9. How much did the man say, who approached Marta, he earned for working one day?
10. What was the man searching for and why?
11. What did Esperanza give the man?
12. What did Esperanza give to the two children?
13. What did Miguel give them?
14. Where did Miguel get a job?
Chapter 11- Los Esparragos
1. In this chapter, what was the vegetable they were picking?
2. As she went to work with Hortensia and Josefina, who did the company sent for protection?
3. What type of things and animals did the Strikers place inside the crates to slow down the workers?
4. Why didn’t the police and immigration officials go after the company workers during the raid?
5. Do you think U.S. Citizens were being boarded on the bus and sent back to Mexico?
6. Who did Esperanza see as she needed more bands to wrap around the asparagus?
7. What did Esperanza and Miguel see when they reached the Strikers camp?
Chapter 12- Los Duraznos
1. What did Isabel pray for? (A)
2. What was the criteria to be A?
3. Esperanza asked Josefina if a Mexican girl has ever been chosen to be A?
4. What did Isabel tell Esperanza and Hortensia about the people moving in from Oklahoma?
5. What did Isabel tell them that the people from Oklahoma are getting?
6. What happened to Miguel at work?
7. On page 222, the author writes “In Mexico, I was a second-class citizen. I stood on the other side of the river, remember? And I would have stayed that way my entire life. At least here, I have a chance, however small, to become more than what I was. You, obviously, can never understand this because you have never lived without hope.” Explain this paragraph.
8. Did Isabel become Queen of May? (B)
9. Why B?
10. What did Esperanza give Isabel?
11. Did Esperanza’s mother get released from the hospital?
12. How long has it been since they saw abuelita?
13. What happened to Esperanza’s money?
Chapter 13- Las Uvas
1. Who did they suspect took the money?
2. As Esperanza and Josefina took their lunch break, who appeared? (A&B)
3. Why did A&B go visit Esperanza at work?
4. What was the surprise Miguel had for them? (C)
5. How did Miguel help C escape Aguascalientes?
6. At the end, Esperanza says to Isabel, “Do not ever be afraid to start over.” What did she mean?
Main Directory
For Answer Key Click Link
Book Title: Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
ISBN: 0-439-57617-2
This is one of those "must read books" that your child needs to read before graduating middle school. It is a great story of perseverance. The older your child is when reading this book, the more he/she will appreciate the story.
Chapter 1 Las Uvas
1. How old was Esperanza in Chapter 1?
2. Where did the story take place?
3. What was the name of the ranch?
4. What were the names of Esperanza’s parents?
5. Who is Esperanza’s best friend? (A)
6. What occupation was A’s father?
7. What time period was this? 19______
8. How many years has passed after the Mexican Revolution?
9. The author writes that some peasants were so poor that they had to eat ________.
10. Why do you think abuelita wore black dresses?
11. When abuelita said the metaphor, “No hay rosa sin espinas. There is no rose without thorns,” she was trying to say what?
12. Who was Hortensia?
13. Who was Alfonso?
14. Who was Miguel?
15. What did the author mean by writing that between Miguel & Esperanza “ran a deep river”?
16. Who were Tio Luis and Tio Marco?
17. What type of job did Tio Luis have?
18. What type of job did Tio Marco have?
19. What was the reason that Tio Marco and Tio Luis weren’t married?
20. What happened to Esperanza’s father?
Chapter 2 Las Papayas
1. How did Esperanza’s father die?
2. Who is Señor Rodriguez?
3. What did Señor Rodriguez deliver? (A)
4. What were the A’s for?
5. How long did the funeral last?
6. Esperanza noticed, on page 30, Tio Luis wearing her father’s belt buckle. What do you think this meant?
7. What did the lawyer tell Esperanza’s mother that she inherited?
8. Who inherited the land?
9. Did Tio Luis offer to buy the house from Esperanza’s mother?
10. Did Tio Luis propose to Esperanza’s mother?
11. Was Esperanza’s mother offended by Tio Luis’s proposal?
12. On page 36, Miguel says, “My father and I have lost faith in our country. We were born servants here and no matter how hard we work we will always be servants.” How does this make you feel for them?
Chapter 3 Los Higos
1. What happened to Esperanza’s house? (A)
2. Who rescued abuelita from the burning house?
3. What happened to the grapevines?
4. Who do you think arranged the fire?
5. What did Tio Luis say to Esperanza when he visited the next morning after the fire?
6. What did he, Tio Luis, say about boarding schools?
7. Did Esperanza’s mother accept Tio Luis’s marriage proposal?
Chapter 4 Las Guayabas
1. What did Señor Rodriguez give them to escape? (A)
2. Where are they taking A to?
3. Why do the women have to hide in the wagon?
4. What event did Hortensia start talking about to help Esperanza relax?
5. What did Miguel get as a reward for being brave during that event?
6. How many days did it take them to get to Zacatecas?
7. Describe the setting in the train cart they had to travel in.
8. On page 67, the author writes, “When she [Esperanza] went to town, she was escorted and hurried around any beggars. And the peasants always kept their distance. That was simply the way it was.” What does the author mean by this?
9. What do you think was in the package that Miguel & Alfonso would dampen in every stop?
10. What did Miguel say you needed in Mexico to get a job?
11. On page 75, Esperanza was thinking the following, “I hear that in the United States, you do not need una palanca. That even the poorest man can become rich if he works hard enough.” Palanca means a connection for employment. Ask your parents if they agree with Esperanza’s thoughts.
Chapter 5- Los Melones
1. What city or town did the train stop?
2. What happened at the train station?
3. Why did Esperanza’s mother heart arche at the border?
4. Did Miguel & Alfonso almost miss the train?
5. What were they [Miguel & Alfonso] doing that they almost missed the train?
6. At what city did they unboard the train? (A)
7. Who was waiting for them?
8. What month did they arrive to A?
9. What type of vehicle did they board?
10. On page 88, the author mentions the San Fernando Valley. Do you think this is the San Fernando Valley we live at?
11. Isabel mentioned that they lived in a tent. What do you think your life would be like if you lived in a tent?
12. What was the name of the girl that got on the truck in the San Joaquin Valley? (B)
13. What did B, on page 96, mean by “So you’re a princess who’s come to be a peasant? Where’s all your finery?”
14. How did B’s father die?
15. What did Isabel, on page 98, mean by “They don’t mix us.”?
16. What are “jamaicas”?
17. Did Esperanza like Marta?
Extra Credit
• In the book “Esperanza Rising,” on page 97-98, Isabel points to camps that the workers were Filipinos, Japanese, and from Oklahoma. Research the different ethnic groups that are migrant farm workers in California. In other words, from which country or state do people migrate to California to work in the fields?
• Research the name “Okies” from Oklahoma. How did they get this name?
Chapter 6- Las Cebollas
1. Esperanza’s description of the cabins was “that they weren’t even as nice as the servants’ cabins in Aguascalientes. They reminded Esperanza more of the horse stalls on the ranch than of a place for people to live.” Is this a paradox?
2. On page 103, Esperanza shouts to her mother. “Mama, we are living like horses! How can you sing? How can you be happy? We don’t even have a room to call our own.” Do you think Esperanza is correct to say this?
3. What is Esperanza’s job on the first day?
4. What is Isabel’s job?
5. What is Alfonso’s job?
6. What is Juan’s job?
7. What is Hortensia’s job?
8. What is Josefina’s job?
9. What is Ramona’s job?
10. Who is Hortensia?
11. Who is Alfonso?
12. Who is Josefina?
13. Who is Juan?
14. Who is Juan related to?
15. Who is Isabel?
16. What were the names of the twins?
17. Who were the twins’ parents?
18. What was Esperanza’s camp job?
19. Where did Miguel leave to find work?
20. What type of work did Miguel go looking for?
21. Who was Silvia?
22. Did Miguel find work at the railroad yards?
23. What type of work did Miguel say Mexicans were being hired for?
24. What type of work did Miguel say Mexicans weren’t being hired for?
Chapter 7- Las Almendras
1. What did Miguel & Alfonso bring back from Aguascaliente?
2. What did Josefina say would happen if they strike?
Chapter 8- Las Ciruelas
1. Where did Isabel go early in the morning?
2. What did Esperanza feed the children?
3. What happened to the babies a few hours after Esperanza fed them lunch?
4. What needed to be picked before the first fall rains?
5. How many days a week did everyone have to work?
6. What was the temperature like?
7. What day did Melina tell Esperanza it was?
8. Was Esperanza worried that her mother might strike?
9. What hit the camp?
10. What was the name of Isabel’s kitten?
11. Was there a strike after all?
12. What happened to the cotton fields?
13. How long did they take to harvest the grapes?
14. Did Esperanza’s mother get sick?
15. What illness does Esperanza’s mother have? (A)
16. What is A? Try and explain it
17. On page 156, Esperanza asks the doctor, “How long until she (her mom) is well?” What was the doctor’s response?
Chapter 9
1. The doctor returned a few weeks later and said what?
2. Where did the doctor say Esperanza’s mother needs to go? (A)
3. Who drove Esperanza’s mother to A?
4. What was Esperanza’s idea to get her grandmother to the San Joaquin Valley?
5. What did Marta’s aunt tell Josefina about striking?
6. What are their fears if they strike?
7. What are their fears if they don’t strike?
8. What did Esperanza tell Isabel she wanted for Christmas?
9. What did Isabel want for Christmas?
10. On page 176, Esperanza stared into the dark. “Isabel had nothing, but she also had everything. Esperanza wanted what she had. She wanted so few worries that something as simple as a yarn doll would make her happy.” In your perspective, what did the author try to say?
11. What did Esperanza say to her mom as she left the hospital?
Chapter 10- Los Aguacates
1. What days did Esperanza visit her mother?
2. What did the doctor tell Esperanza her mother contacted?
3. By now, Esperanza’s mother had been in the hospital for _______ months and Esperanza hadn’t been allowed to visit for ___________________ weeks.
4. What was the name of the market owner?
5. What did Esperanza buy at the market?
6. Who did they see walking along the road on their way back from the market? (A&B)
7. Where did Miguel drive A&B to? (C)
8. Describe C’s location?
9. How much did the man say, who approached Marta, he earned for working one day?
10. What was the man searching for and why?
11. What did Esperanza give the man?
12. What did Esperanza give to the two children?
13. What did Miguel give them?
14. Where did Miguel get a job?
Chapter 11- Los Esparragos
1. In this chapter, what was the vegetable they were picking?
2. As she went to work with Hortensia and Josefina, who did the company sent for protection?
3. What type of things and animals did the Strikers place inside the crates to slow down the workers?
4. Why didn’t the police and immigration officials go after the company workers during the raid?
5. Do you think U.S. Citizens were being boarded on the bus and sent back to Mexico?
6. Who did Esperanza see as she needed more bands to wrap around the asparagus?
7. What did Esperanza and Miguel see when they reached the Strikers camp?
Chapter 12- Los Duraznos
1. What did Isabel pray for? (A)
2. What was the criteria to be A?
3. Esperanza asked Josefina if a Mexican girl has ever been chosen to be A?
4. What did Isabel tell Esperanza and Hortensia about the people moving in from Oklahoma?
5. What did Isabel tell them that the people from Oklahoma are getting?
6. What happened to Miguel at work?
7. On page 222, the author writes “In Mexico, I was a second-class citizen. I stood on the other side of the river, remember? And I would have stayed that way my entire life. At least here, I have a chance, however small, to become more than what I was. You, obviously, can never understand this because you have never lived without hope.” Explain this paragraph.
8. Did Isabel become Queen of May? (B)
9. Why B?
10. What did Esperanza give Isabel?
11. Did Esperanza’s mother get released from the hospital?
12. How long has it been since they saw abuelita?
13. What happened to Esperanza’s money?
Chapter 13- Las Uvas
1. Who did they suspect took the money?
2. As Esperanza and Josefina took their lunch break, who appeared? (A&B)
3. Why did A&B go visit Esperanza at work?
4. What was the surprise Miguel had for them? (C)
5. How did Miguel help C escape Aguascalientes?
6. At the end, Esperanza says to Isabel, “Do not ever be afraid to start over.” What did she mean?
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