Status
Available
Collection
Genres
Publication
HMH Books for Young Readers (2014), Edition: ISBN 978-0-544-10941-4, 272 pages
Description
Fourteen-year-old Mateo and other Caribbean islanders face discrimination, segregation, and harsh working conditions when American recruiters lure them to the Panamanian rain forest in 1906 to build the great canal.
Awards
Jane Addams Children's Book Award (Honor Book — 2015)
Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature (Winner — 2015)
Green Earth Book Award (Honor — Young Adult Fiction — 2015)
CCBC Choices (2015)
El día de los niños / El día de los libros (6-8 — 2015)
Language
Original language
English
User reviews
LibraryThing member Cherylk
This is another book that I picked up for my nephews as I thought it would be a good one that would help them get familiar with the Panama Canal.
I have never read any book by this author before, so I don't know if all of her books are written this way but I really had a pleasurable time reading
I have never read any book by this author before, so I don't know if all of her books are written this way but I really had a pleasurable time reading
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this one. The book was not just spilt in long chapters but into sections. There were the voices of the people building the canal and then there were the voices from the forest. The animals who's home was being destroyed. I loved them all. Although reading the voices of the animals was fun and entertaining. Each pages was a quick snippet of a voice. It kind of like poetry. Also, there were no extremely big words that my nephews would not be able to pronounce and therefore, they would be able to read this book on their own. This book is a creative way to teach children about the Panama Canal. I will check out more books by this author. Show Less
LibraryThing member waltonlibrary
One hundred years ago, the world celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, which connected the world’s two largest oceans and signaled America’s emergence as a global superpower. It was a miracle, this path of water where a mountain had stood—and creating a miracle is no easy thing.
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Thousands lost their lives, and those who survived worked under the harshest conditions for only a few silver coins a day. Show Less
LibraryThing member waltonlibrary
One hundred years ago, the world celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, which connected the world’s two largest oceans and signaled America’s emergence as a global superpower. It was a miracle, this path of water where a mountain had stood—and creating a miracle is no easy thing.
Show More
Thousands lost their lives, and those who survived worked under the harshest conditions for only a few silver coins a day. Show Less
LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
Through several voices speaking in poems, readers learn about the darker side of the construction of the Panama Canal. The workforce was blatantly segregated by skin color (those of European extraction were the "gold people" who earned more and had nice living quarters; the "silver people" were
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darker-skinned, earned far less, lived in substandard housing, and were subject to dangerous, even deadly working conditions. We hear the voices of the rain forest as well, most vividly the howler monkeys and the trees. They add a STEM aspect that rounds out a layered story of history, injustice, environment, engineering and conservation. Show Less
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Lexile
L