About book The Most Beautiful Place In The World (1993)
Snapshot: Juan, a seven-year old Guatemalan boy is abandoned by his young mother; she lives nearby with a stepfather who has disowned the young boy. Juan lives with his grandmother and his uncles, but always questions their love and loyalty--after all, his own mother has rejected him and started a new family to which he does not belong. Eventually, Juan begins to feel valued as he starts working and earning money for his grandmother, but he longs to go to school and get an education. While working the streets shining shoes, he teaches himself to read. After time, he realizes how much his grandmother loves him and he works up the courage to ask her to enroll him in school. He discovers that his grandmother had the same dream for herself when she was a girl, but her parents would not allow her to attend school because they needed her to work. When they visit the schoolhouse, he impresses the first-grade teacher with his early math and reading skills and she vows to help him in his education. “Hook”: Short, simple sentence structure good for beginning readers in English.Challenges: The content is disheartening (poverty, child abandonment, love and family approval, trust), but the book also provides hope (love, family, education, self-esteem).Student in mind: ESL 1 students, to gain confidence as readers in English Conference notes: What is your most beautiful place in the world? Why do you think Juan’s mother abandons him? Why does grandmother’s family say she cannot go to school? Why is work more important than education at times? When is education more important? This book provides opportunities to discuss work as immediate financial gain and education as sustained financial stability, as well as the class-power dynamics among nations and world economies.Level: Middle School ESL 1, students with special reading/language needs
Written in the voice of a seven year old Guatemalan boy, this story found its way into my heart and onto my shelf. At first, due to the lack of traditional chapter book format, I figured the reading would feel like a 45 page long run-on sentence. Yet, the simplistic childlike language drew me into Juan's life, sad yet hopeful. Even though written for young readers, it is a serious book with serious moments. Children may find it difficult to relate and make real connections with Juan so be prepared to answer questions.
Do You like book The Most Beautiful Place In The World (1993)?
"... donde hay alguien a quien se quiere muchísimo y donde hay alguien que nos quiere de veras, ése sí que es el lugar más bonito del mundo".Un hermoso cuento, que se trata de un niño llamado Juan, de Guatemala, en donde no tiene mucho pero con su entusiasmo sale adelante en sus estudios y en el trabajo que tiene, donde la abuela es su único apoyo después de que sus padres lo abandonaran a tan temprana edad. Me gustó demasiado, es muy lindo, muy tierno, desde el punto de vista de un niño de esca
—Loreto ♡.
I have mixed opinions on this book; on the one hand, it's a realistic depiction of the complicated mixed-family situations common to Central America. However, the author writes from an informed point of view; if the story were actually told by a child from a Guatemalan background (as opposed to someone used to U.S. culture), many events or reactions would not be emphasized as they are in the text. So, the way the story is told does not feel genuine, but the story itself is a good look at the realities of a third-world childhood and education. Also, the length is a little awkward.
—Holly
