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APPLE from the author of becoming naomi león Includes Esperanza believed her life would be wonderful forever. She would AfTeR pam muñoz ryan always live on her family’s ranch in Mexico. She would always have wOrds™ fancy dresses and a beautiful home filled with servants. Papa and ryan abuelita would always be with her. But a sudden tragedy shatters her world and forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California, where they settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn’t ready for the hard labor, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression, and lack of acceptance she now faces. When Mama gets sick, and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances—because Mama’s life and her own depend on it. Pura Belpré award Winner Jane addams Children’s Book award Winner aLa Top Ten Best Books for young adults Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist new york Public Library 100 Titles for reading and Sharing Publishers Weekly Best Book of the year ★ “Told in a lyrical, fairy tale-like style. readers will be swept up.” bonus features —Publishers Weekly, starred review ™ ★ “Easy to booktalk, useful in classroom discussions, and accessible as pleasure reading, this well-written novel belongs in all collections.” —School Library Journal, starred review Includes AfTeR wOrds™ bonus interview, information, and interactivity inside ISBN-13: 978-0-439-12042-5 AfTeR wOrds ISBN-10: 0-439-12042-X www.scholastic.com 50599 Cover art © 2000 by Joe Cepeda EAN Cover design by Marijka Kostiw Includes $5.99 US / $7.99 CAN 9 780439 120425 PAM MUÑOZ RYAN Mexican proverbs on page ix from Mexican Sayings: The Treasure of a People by Octavio A.Ballesteros and Maria del Carmen Ballesteros. Reprinted courtesy of Eakin Press. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.” No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. ISBN-13: 978-0-439-12042-5 ISBN-10: 0-439-12042-X Copyright © 2000 by Pam Muñoz Ryan. All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC, APPLE PAPERBACKS, AFTER WORDS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 7 8 9 10 11 12/0 Printed in the U.S.A. 40 This edition first printing, June 2007 SCHOLASTIC INC. The display type was set in Solstice. The text type was set in 13-point Deepdene H. • New York Toronto London Auckland Sydney Illustrations by Joe Cepeda Book design by Marijka Kostiw Mexico City New Delhi Hong Kong Buenos Aires Mexican proverbs on page ix from Mexican Sayings: The Treasure of a People by Octavio A.Ballesteros and Maria del Carmen Ballesteros. Reprinted courtesy of Eakin Press. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.” No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. ISBN-13: 978-0-439-12042-5 ISBN-10: 0-439-12042-X Copyright © 2000 by Pam Muñoz Ryan. All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC, APPLE PAPERBACKS, AFTER WORDS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 7 8 9 10 11 12/0 Printed in the U.S.A. 40 This edition first printing, June 2007 The display type was set in Solstice. The text type was set in 13-point Deepdene H. Illustrations by Joe Cepeda • Book design by Marijka Kostiw Aquel que hoy se cae, se levantará mañana. T O THE MEMORY OF E SPERANZA O RTEGA M UÑOZ H ERNANDEZ E LGART, He who falls today may rise tomorrow. MI ABUELITA. B ASKETS OF GRAPES TO MY EDITOR, T RACY M ACK, FOR PATIENTLY WAITING FOR FRUIT TO FALL. R OSES TO O ZELLA B ELL, J ESS M ARQUEZ, D ON B ELL, AND H OPE M UÑOZ B ELL Es más rico el rico cuando empobrece que FOR SHARING THEIR STORIES. el pobre cuando enriquece. The rich person is richer when he S MOOTH STONES AND YARN DOLLS TO I SABEL S CHON, P H .D., L ETICIA G UADARRAMA, becomes poor, than the poor person T ERESA M LAWER, AND M ACARENA S ALAS when he becomes rich. FOR THEIR EXPERTISE AND ASSISTANCE. — MEXICAN PROVERBS Aquel que hoy se cae, se levantará mañana. He who falls today may rise tomorrow. Es más rico el rico cuando empobrece que el pobre cuando enriquece. The rich person is richer when he becomes poor, than the poor person when he becomes rich. — MEXICAN PROVERBS Esperanza Rising Table of Contents Aguascalientes, México, 1924 . 1 Las uvas / Grapes . 4 Las papayas / Papayas . 23 Los higos / Figs . 39 Las guayabas / Guavas . 58 Los melones / Cantaloupes . 81 Las cebollas / Onions . 100 Las almendras / Almonds . 121 Las ciruelas / Plums . 139 Las papas / Potatoes . 158 Los aguacates / Avocados . 179 Los esparragos / Asparagus . 199 Los duraznos / Peaches . 214 Las uvas / Grapes . 234 AGUASCALIENTES, MEXICO 1924 ur land is alive, Esperanza,” said Papa, tak- ing her small hand as they walked through “Othe gentle slopes of the vineyard. Leafy green vines draped the arbors and the grapes were ready to drop. Esperanza was six years old and loved to walk with her papa through the winding rows, gazing up at him and watching his eyes dance with love for the land. “This whole valley breathes and lives,” he said, sweeping his arm toward the distant mountains that guarded them. “It gives us the grapes and then they welcome us.” He gently touched a wild ten- dril that reached into the row, as if it had been waiting to shake his hand. He picked up a handful of earth and studied it. “Did you know that when you lie down on the land, you can feel it breathe? That you can feel its heart beating?” “Papi, I want to feel it,” she said. “Come.” They walked to the end of the row, 1 where the incline of the land formed a grassy swell. Papa lay down on his stomach and looked up at her, patting the ground next to him. Esperanza smoothed her dress and knelt down. Then, like a caterpillar, she slowly inched flat next to him, their faces looking at each other. The warm sun pressed on one of Esperanza’s cheeks and the warm earth on the other. She giggled. “Shhh,” he said. “You can only feel the earth’s heartbeat when you are still and quiet.” She swallowed her laughter and after a mo- ment said, “I can’t hear it, Papi.” “Aguántate tantito y la fruta caerá en tu mano,” he said. “Wait a little while and the fruit will fall into your hand. You must be patient, Esperanza.” She waited and lay silent, watching Papa’s eyes. And then she felt it. Softly at first. A gentle thumping. Then stronger. A resounding thud, thud, thud against her body. She could hear it, too. The beat rushing in her ears. Shoomp, shoomp, shoomp. 2 She stared at Papa, not wanting to say a word. Not wanting to lose the sound. Not wanting to for- get the feel of the heart of the valley. She pressed closer to the ground, until her body was breathing with the earth’s. And with Papa’s. The three hearts beating together. She smiled at Papa, not needing to talk, her eyes saying everything. And his smile answered hers. Telling her that he knew she had felt it. 3 LASGRAPES UVAS six years later apa handed Esperanza the knife. The short blade was curved like a scythe, its fat wooden Phandle fitting snugly in her palm. This job was usually reserved for the eldest son of a wealthy rancher, but since Esperanza was an only child and Papa’s pride and glory, she was always given the honor. Last night she had watched Papa sharpen the knife back and forth across a stone, so she knew the tool was edged like a razor. “Cuídate los dedos,” said Papa. “Watch your fin- gers.” The August sun promised a dry afternoon in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Everyone who lived and worked on El Rancho de las Rosas was gathered at the edge of the field: Esperanza’s family, the house servants in their long white aprons, the vaqueros already sitting on their horses ready to ride out to the cattle, and fifty or sixty campesinos, straw hats in their hands, holding their own knives 4 ready. They were covered top to bottom, in long- sleeved shirts, baggy pants tied at the ankles with string, and bandanas wrapped around their fore- heads and necks to protect them from the sun, dust, and spiders.