Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Yuyi Morales,
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez.
Harcourt, 2002.

As a young boy growing up near Yuma, Arizona, in the 1930s, Cesar Chavez lived a life of plenty on a homestead established by his grandfather. The farm provided the food the family needed, and he was surrounded by siblings and cousins: “Cesar thought the whole world belonged to his family. The eighty acres of their ranch were an island in the shimmering Arizona desert, and the starry skies were all their own.”

Everything changed during the summer of 1937, when Cesar was ten. Those same skies hardened, resulting in a severe drought that destroyed the family farm. The Chavez family lost everything and was forced to head for California to join thousands of migrant workers toiling in the fields and struggling to survive. A life of bounty tragically changed to one of abject poverty. The Chavez family's first home in California was an old shed with a dirt floor and no doors. Even with eight of them — Cesar's parents and his siblings — working in the fields, the family earned only thirty cents a day. Cesar endured wheezing lungs and stinging eyes caused by pesticides, and back spasms from thinning lettuce with a short-handled hoe. Even as a child, Cesar knew the way landowners treated the migrant workers was wrong: “Farm chores on someone else's farm instead of his own felt like a form of slavery”

Harvesting Hope tells the story of Chavez's profound struggle to seek justice and equitable treatment for California's migrant workers. A shy young man with only an eighth-grade education, Chavez lifted his voice for “La Causa” and encouraged others he met while traveling across the state to do the same. His efforts culminated in a strike in 1965 when vineyard workers in Delano, California, walked off the job, and throngs of Chavez supporters began marching toward Sacramento seeking government intervention on their behalf. Following what became the longest protest march in America's history, Chavez signed the National Farm Workers Association's first contract, which promised better pay and improved conditions for thousands of migrant workers.

Kathleen Krull's tale of Chavez's struggles and triumphs is well told and makes the story of this modern-day hero accessible to young readers. Chavez, a gentle, somewhat timid boy is transformed in the course of the text into a strong-willed yet peaceful activist who took the lessons of his mother to heart: “Cesar was stubborn, but he was not a fighter. His mother cautioned her children against fighting, urging them to use their minds and mouths to work out conflicts.” Chavez lived a life of nonviolence, even when others urged otherwise, and he persistently fasted for social justice.

The bold and vibrant illustrations by Yuyi Morales are outstanding. Each page is reminiscent of a mural, filled with poignant scenes depicting Chavez's story. Harvesting Hope offers a powerful introduction to the life of a man whose dedication to fairness for all workers should never be forgotten.

Julie Pfitzinger
Spring 2003