Caravan to the North: Misael's Long Walk

by Jorge Argueta, Manuel Monroy IBBY Honour List (Illustrator), Elizabeth Bell (Translator)

Overview

An urgent and eloquent account of a boy traveling in a caravan from his beloved homeland of El Salvador to the US border.

This novel in verse is a powerful first-person account of Misael Martínez, a Salvadoran boy whose family joins the caravan heading north to the United States. We learn all the different reasons why people feel the need to leave — the hope that lies behind their decision, but also the terrible sadness of leaving home. We learn about how far and hard the trip is, but also about the kindness of those along the way.

Finally, once the caravan arrives in Tijuana, Misael and those around him are relieved. They think they have arrived at the goal of the trip — to enter the United States. But then tear gas, hateful demonstrations, force and fear descend on these vulnerable people. The border is closed. The book ends with Misael dreaming of El Salvador.

This beautiful and timely story is written in simple but poetic verse by Jorge Argueta, the award-winning author of Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds. Award-winning Mexican illustrator Manuel Monroy illuminates Misael’s journey. An author’s note is included, along with a map showing the caravan’s route.

Key Text Features
author’s note map illustrations

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781773067407
Publisher:	Groundwood Books
Publication date:	01/02/2024
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	9 - 11 Years

About the Author

JORGE ARGUETA, a Pipil Nahua Indian from El Salvador and Poet Laureate of San Mateo County, is a prize-winning author of more than twenty children’s books. His book Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award and was named to USBBY’s Outstanding International Books List, ALA Notable Children’s Books and the Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices. Jorge is the founder of the International Children's Poetry Festival Manyula and the Library of Dreams, a non-profit organization that promotes literacy in El Salvador. Jorge divides his time between San Francisco, California, and El Salvador.

MANUEL MONROY is one of Mexico’s most celebrated illustrators who has exhibited his art internationally. He has won the A la Orilla del Viento and the Noma Concours Encouragement Prize, and he has been included on the IBBY Honour List. He lives in Mexico City.

ELIZABETH BELL lives in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. Her translations have appeared in the City Lights anthologies Light from a Nearby Window (Mexican poetry) and Island of My Hunger (Cuban poetry), among other publications.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Praise for author Jorge Argueta, illustrator Manuel Monroy and Caravan to the North:

Commended USBBY Outstanding International Books List, 2020

Commended NCTE Notable Poetry Book and Verse Novel, 2020

Commended Westchester Fiction Award Honourable Mention, 2020

Commended Américas Award — Children’s and Young Adult Literature Commended Titles, 2020

“[T]he understated, pared-down language and generous white space make Misael’s story accessible to younger and reluctant readers” — The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“The award-winning Salvadoran writer Argueta offers a brief but powerful novel in verse. … [His] spare text is given emotional potency through Misael’s observations of the members of the caravan …” — Booklist, starred review

“Deceptively simple black-and-white line drawings accompany this wrenching account of the humanitarian crisis taking place in Central America and at the U.S. border. … This moving work should help children understand the current national discussion.” — Kirkus Reviews

“This book is impossible to put down. Argueta’s poetic form in storytelling allows the reader to connect and see themselves in the bravery of the characters … [a] must-read for all allies of the Central American caravan.” — El Tecolote

Praise for Jorge Argueta, Alfonso Ruano and Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds:

“With tenderness and humanity, this bilingual book describes the hopes, fears, and uncertainties of the thousands of displaced children that arrive every year at the southern border of the United States. … Poignant, heartbreaking, and, sadly, timely.” — Kirkus, starred review

“Argueta and Ruano present a unique and much-needed perspective on the reasons driving young people to immigrate to the U.S., in particular the desire to reunite with family.” — Booklist, starred review

“Argueta’s bilingual collection of poems gives voice to the many refugee children who emigrate from Central American countries to the United States in search of safety or better lives. … The poems, written in the first person, present the candid perspective of the children’s experiences.” — Horn Book, starred review

Editorial Reviews

The award-winning Salvadoran writer Argueta offers a brief but powerful novel in verse. … [His] spare text is given emotional potency through Misael’s observations of the members of the caravan …

Booklist

[T]he understated, pared-down language and generous white space make Misael’s story accessible to younger and reluctant readers.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

This book is impossible to put down. Argueta’s poetic form in storytelling allows the reader to connect and see themselves in the bravery of the characters … [a] must-read for all allies of the Central American caravan.

El Tecolote

2019-08-28
In October 2018, hundreds of people gathered in the capital city of El Salvador to form a caravan heading to the United States. Through the voice of one of these asylum seekers Argueta chronicles the unimaginable walk to the Tijuana border.

Misael Martínez, his brother, and their parents have joined the caravan "because you can't really live / in my village anymore. / There's no work. / There's no way to get by. / What there is, / is violence, gangs." As the caravan undertakes the staggering walk of over 2,500 miles—most individuals with no more than a backpack "full of hopes"—crossing through El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico, they are met mostly with kindness along the way. Finally, after much hardship, they reach the U.S. border only to be met with tear gas, "police with shields / and soldiers everywhere. / I'm really, really, really scared." That night he dreams "the sweetest dream of all. / Instead of going to the North, / I went back to El Salvador." Deceptively simple black-and-white line drawings accompany this wrenching account of the humanitarian crisis taking place in Central America and at the U.S. border. Read this along with Argueta's Somos como las nubes/We Are Like the Clouds, illustrated by Alfonso Ruano and translated by Elisa Amado (2016). Argueta's original Spanish text, Caravana al norte, publishes simultaneously.

This moving work should help children understand the current national discussion. (afterword, map) (Verse fiction. 9-adult)

Kirkus Reviews