Middle-grade novel · Fiction

Esperanza Rising

Pam Muñoz Ryan

About the book

Esperanza and her mother leave a privileged life in Mexico for a farm labor camp in California during the Great Depression.

Reading notes

Historical fiction about class, labor and resilience; the story begins with the death of Esperanza's father.

This description was drafted with AI assistance and checked by a separate AI review against catalog, publisher and award sources on 2026-11-11. It has not been reviewed by a human editor. Report an error.

Recognition

  • Pura Belpré Author Award (2002)

Recognition is listed from the awarding bodies’ published records. How we verify awards.

Book details

Author
Pam Muñoz Ryan
First published
2000
Suggested ages
Ages 9–13 (editorial estimate — children vary)
Reading mode
Independent reader
Topics
immigration, great depression, hispanic heritage
Edition shown
ISBN 9780439771252 · Scholastic Inc., June 1, 2005
Catalog record
Open Library work record · edition record

Metadata verified against Open Library on 2026-11-11. Other editions and formats exist; ISBNs differ by edition.

Not independently confirmed by our AI review: the suggested age range against a publisher range. Treat these details with caution.

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