The Pecan Sheller

Written by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

ASIN: B0D6KR93J1

Publisher: Carolrhoda Books ®

Language: English

Print length: 256 pages

ISBN-13: 979-8765610527

Reading age: 10 - 14 years

*Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award

In 1930s San Antonio, thirteen-year-old Petra dreams of going to college and becoming a writer.

But with her beloved father dead, two younger siblings to care for, and with a stepmother struggling to make ends meet, Petra has to drop out of school to shell pecans at a factory. Hoping it's only temporary, she tries not to despair over the grueling work conditions. But after the unhealthy environment leads to tragedy and workers' already low wages are cut, Petra knows things need to change. She and her coworkers go on strike for higher wages and safer conditions, risking everything they have for the hope of a better future.

"Heart-warming and enraging in equal parts, this important American story reveals the power of family, community, and hope."―Laurie Halse Anderson, New York Times-bestselling author

Review

A Junior Library Guild Selection

"A powerful, moving story explores the little-known but important story of the six-week pecan shellers' strike."―starred, Booklist

"Using short chapters with quick pacing, Ruiz-Flores (Piece by Piece) unveils intimate and well-researched depictions of the Pecan Shellers Strike of 1938 and its impact on Mexican descendants and beyond."―starred, Publishers Weekly

"The story deftly explores the nuances of both Petra's and Amá's relationship and traumas, as well as the strength and hope to be found in family and community. A poignantly, beautifully written tale."―starred, Kirkus Reviews

"Based on the real-life pecan sheller's strike of 1938, Ruiz-Flores's captivating tale is filled with hope."―New York Times Book Review

Lupe Ruiz-Flores is the author of six bilingual picture books. She is a former Regional Advisor for the Southwest Chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and until recently its newsletter editor. Lupe has won the SCBWI Work-In-Progress Grant, the SCBWI/Amazon Work-in-Progress Grant, and the SCBWI Martha Weston Award. She is a member of the Writers League of Texas, Texas Library Association, Las Musas, and Kindling Words. She was awarded the Tejas Star Book Award for three consecutive years. Her poetry and short stories have been published in anthologies, including Thanku: Poems of Gratitude. She was recently inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.