By Reyna Grande
Age
Range: 10 - 14 years
Grade
Level: 5 - 9
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Aladdin
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1481463713
ISBN-13:
978-1481463713
Award-winning author Reyna Grande shares her compelling
experience of crossing borders and cultures in this middle grade adaptation of
her “compelling…unvarnished, resonant” (BookPage) memoir, The
Distance Between Us.
When her parents make the dangerous and illegal trek across the
Mexican border in pursuit of the American dream, Reyna and her siblings are
forced to live with their stern grandmother, as they wait for their parents to
build the foundation of a new life.
But when things don’t go quite as planned, Reyna finds herself
preparing for her own journey to “El Otro Lado” to live with the man who has
haunted her imagination for years: her long-absent father. Both funny and
heartbreaking, The Distance Between Us beautifully captures the struggle
that Reyna and her siblings endured while trying to assimilate to a different
culture, language, and family life in El Otro Lado (The Other Side).
Bring
Christmas Cheer to a Child in Need!
Message from Reyna Grande:
This December I'm going to Iguala to hold my annual
Christmas Toy Giveaway. Christmas is a special time of the year in many
countries, and here in Iguala, where 70% of the population lives in
poverty, children now more than ever need those special times full
of joy and happiness. For the past two years, with help from
family and friends, old and new, I was able to buy over 700 toys!
This year I hope to buy just as many, or more if possible. The Christmas
Toy Giveaway is something the children have been looking forward to all year
and I will not disappoint them!
The children in my hometown of Iguala, Guerrero in Southern
Mexico are living in a place full of poverty, violence, and instability. Ever
since September 2014, when 43 college students were forcibly disappeared in my
hometown, things have gone from bad to worse. Since then, about 120 mass
graves have been found around my hometown. Many more people have been killed or
disappeared. Cartel gangs have been fighting for control of the area. Iguala is
surrounded by poppy fields to supply the huge demand for heroin in
the US. This is the place that the children in my hometown live in.
Despite this, life in Iguala continues, and children there do
the best they can to not just survive, but to thrive. There's so much more I
wish I could do for my hometown, but for now, I'm happy to bring some smiles to
the children and let them know we care.
Please help me make this Christmas a special joyful time for the
children in Iguala, Guerrero! Together we can make a difference. Donate today
and tell your friends!
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