The Circuit by: Francisco Jiménez

The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child

                This short autobiographical novel tells the story of a 4-year-old Francisco and his family.  In 1947 they illegally cross the Mexican border into the United States to find work and to build a better life.  A series of short stories follows this family (in a span of about 10 years) as they travel between different locations finding work on different farms depending on the season.  Francisco struggles to learn English when he is actually in school and to prove to his father that he can work alongside him to provide for the family.

                I enjoyed the book and thought it was interesting.  There are several good qualities about this book.  One, it gives the perspective of what it’s like to live as a poor immigrant and migrant.  This can open up students’ eyes to the different socio-economic backgrounds of their classmates.  Two, there is Spanish scattered throughout the book but it does not hinder comprehension.  This is a great way to ask Latino/a students to help with translation and it’s always cool to learn a few words in a new language.  Three, given that it is so short it might lend itself well to a short interdisciplinary unit.  Social Studies can learn about Mexican events mentioned (ie: Mexican Revolution) or could talk about what it was like to be immigrants in the 1940s and now.  There is a lot of discussion about hourly wages and making enough money to live.  The concept of balancing a modest budget or simpler “how much do you make a day if you make this in an hour” kind of questions could be used.  Finally, perhaps students could write short stories from their own lives.

                Overall, I would recommend the book. It’s short and eye opening.  It can be used in the classroom or as individual reading.