I’m grateful that there are a growing number of picture books that help children understand social issues. However, it’s not as easy to find books that address justice issues that are also sensitively written and beautifully illustrated. I’m thrilled to have found a children’s book that meets all three of these criteria: La Frontera. It’s an ideal book for helping kids develop empathy for immigrant families.
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La Frontera: El viaje con papa/My Journey with Papa is a bilingual book that tells the author’s true life story of why he and his father migrated from Mexico to the United States in the 1980s.
La Frontera Book Review: Understanding Why Many Immigrant Families Migrate
Young Alfredo is the oldest of four children. His family has lived in the Guanajuato state of Mexico for over a century, where many of the men worked gathering pine nuts from the pinyon trees. Alfredo’s family is happy. But life becomes hard when his grandfather can no longer make the long journey to the pine trees to work with his father. Soon, because there is not enough money, there’s not enough food either.
Alfredo’s grandfather convinces Alfredo’s papá that he must leave for the United States, even though he doesn’t want to. Alfredo will go with him, while the rest of the family stays behind.
Related Post: 11 of the Best Children’s Books about Immigrants and Refugees
The book is told from Alfredo’s point of view. Children can sense how difficult this decision was for his father, and how much uncertainty it caused for Alfredo. As he thinks about being without his siblings, friends, and his mother, he is torn. “I was hungry yes,” Alfredo tells us, “but I did not want life to change.”
Even though times are hard, people in his community come together to throw a special celebration for Papá and Alfredo before they go. His mother lets Alfredo know how lucky he is to go with Papá. She encourages him to be strong, and think of himself as a little bird heading north in the spring.
Rivers and Deserts: Making the Journey
Like most other immigrant families who don’t have papers, Alfredo’s father must hire a coyote to guide them on their journey. Though “Coyote” gives them an inner tube to cross the Rio Grande, it doesn’t work. He promised to meet Papá and Alfredo on the other side. Just as many immigrant families today are, they are tricked by Coyote, who took their money but never showed up.
Alfredo’s telling of the difficult journey helps children understand how hard it was, without being frightening. He also gives us a sense of how Papá’s love, care, and humor help him endure the pain they’re experiencing.
We also see how other people extend compassion to migrants who are making this dangerous trek. After having to sleep on rocks in the desert, Alfredo and Papá are relieved to find a broken down shack with some basic supplies. A sign encourages them to take what they need and asks them not to destroy anything.
To get my resource pack on talking immigration with children, just request access to my free Resource Library using the form below!
Adjusting to Life in the United States
A few weeks after they get settled in Texas, it’s time for Alfredo to start school. Alfredo’s father gives him a $100 bill to hide in his pocket, in case he’s picked up by immigration agents and taken to the border. That way he can purchase a bus ticket back to their village.
At first, Alfredo is lonely and confused at school, since he hasn’t begun to learn English yet. His teacher finds an older boy who speaks Spanish to come help him. Gradually, school becomes a more comfortable place for Alfredo.
Related Post: How Families Can Support Immigrant Children in Crisis
The final part of the story is an epilogue of sorts. Four years later, Alfredo is traveling back to the border with Papá. He doesn’t know why they’re going to El Paso, until he sees the faces of his family. Because of the amnesty bill signed by President Reagan, Papá and Alfredo were able to begin the citizenship process and finally reunite with their family.
Using La Frontera to Talk about the Experiences of Immigrant Families
My 6 year old and I have read La Frontera many times, and it’s also been used at my church as part of our Vacation Bible School emphasis on welcoming immigrants.
Sometimes we simply read the book and experience it through the expressive pictures and story. Other times we stop and talk about how Alfredo’s story is similar (and also different) from many immigrant families crossing the border today.
After the story, there are several pages of bilingual illustrated educational notes that are perfect for discussing immigration with children. They give more details about Alfredo’s family (including a picture of the family today), borders, and different reasons that people migrate.
I don’t ever use the phrase “illegal immigrants” when we talk. That’s because there is no such thing as an illegal person. With my son, we talk often about “not having the right papers” that alllow families to have the rights and privileges that our citizen family takes for granted. We’ve talked about how before Alfredo made the trip, his family didn’t have a way to get the right papers. They were hungry and so they didn’t have the choice to wait.
Related Post: Helping Kids Understand Immigration
We’ve also talked about how we are so happy that Alfredo was able to be reunited with his mom and siblings, but that it was because the country’s leaders passed a temporary law years ago. I want to make sure he understands that there are many children and parents who aren’t together right now. We talk about how that’s because of our immigration laws, but that all of us can work to change those laws.
Free Resource Pack on Immigration for Kids
The plight of immigrant families is something my son and I talk about often, and we’ve sent letters and drawings to our members of Congress more than once.
Want some tools to help the kids in your life discuss immigration and take action to support immigrant families like Alfredo’s?
Fill out the box below get your free resource pack that includes:
- a kid-friendly immigration glossary
- discussion guide for La Frontera
- Keep Families Together letter writing activity for contacting your member of Congress about immigration reform.
