A Day's Work

This book also dealt with children from a different culture. I am assuming these people were hispanic or latino. In the beginning, it shows how trucks will drive by and pick up the amount of workers they need each day. I thought doing this was illegal but now I'm not sure. It is kind of sad to me

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that a child would be doing this but the book has a deeper meaning.

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Good to read because it talked about children from a different cultures. It would be good to read to older students because you could get into what cultural barriers. But it also shoes how Fanciso is honest and he explains how lying is wrong.

This book is interesting because it incorporates Spanish. The book is about a grandpa who cannot speak English but he is looking for work. The grandson loves the Lakers and ends up finding a gardening position for the day. They end up doing the wrong work and the little boy becomes very upset.

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However, everything ends up okay in the end and they head home.

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Available on audio; Author also wrote The Wall, Smoky Night, Going Home, Night Tree, Fly Away Home.

Retelling: In this book a little boy from California tells a little lie to try to help his Grandfather, who doesn’t speak any English, earn some money for the family. The lie gets him in trouble, but he learns something important.

Thoughts and Feelings: This book reminded me of when my father told

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me “there are a lot of smart people in the world. What the world needs is good people.”

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A grandson helps his grandfather find work in America despite him only being able to speak Spanish. The boy lies and says his grandfather knows how to garden, and they end up digging up the plants instead of the weeds in the field.
This would be a good book for a lesson on lying. Because they lied

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they had to do extra work to make the correction.

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A little boy helps his grandpa, who does not speak English well, find work. He helps by lying though, saying his grandpa is a good gardener when he is not. The boy and grandpa where asked to clear out all the weeds in a field, but instead clear out everything else and leave the weeds because they

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think that the weeds are flowers. The grandpa and the boy fix their mess in the end, but it costs them an extra day's work. The book shows the value and importance of telling the truth.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age(s): 6-10

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This book was very good. It is about a young boy whose grandfather arrives in California. His grandfather doesn't know any English so Francisco speaks to him in spanish. Some words in the book are in spanish so it is a good learning tool to learn some spanish. The book goes on to where Francisco is

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trying to get his grandfather work. They end up finding a job of gardening and Francisco tells the man that they are very good and gardening. When Benjamin comes back to pick them up he sees that they picked the wrong thing up. They picked the flowers instead of the weeds. The grandfather realizes his grandson told a lie and tells the man they will work tomorrow to fix the problem and will not take pay. The little boy learns a lesson.

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A boy and his grandfather move into the states not speaking English. The little boy lies to help his grandfather find a job. This book has a good moral. We can teach children not to lie and always say the truth.

Genre: Realistic Fiction.
Characterization: The grandfather in the story was a static character in this integrity does not change and becasue of this his grandson learns a lesson about working.
Media: Watercolor and gouache

"A Day's Work," is an excellent story by Eve Bunting. What I liked most about the book was that the principles of honesty and integrity were the stories central message. In an effort to get a days work, Francisco lied to a man and told him that his grandfather, who doesn't speak English, was an

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experienced gardner. When they didn't do a good job gardening, their employer realized that he was lied to. Francisco's grandfather, who is portrayed as an honorable man, apologizes and says they will make it right the next day and won't accept their pay until they do. Their employer appreciates the grandfathers integrity and willingness to fix his mistake, and says he may have more work for a "good man" like him in the future. The employer says, "The important things your grandfather knows already. And I can teach him gardening." The young boy Francisco, recognizes the mistake he made and learns multiple valuable life lessons in the process.

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"The important things your grandfather already knows." This book teaches about the eventual consequences of what may seem like harmless lies. To incorporate this book in the classroom, I'd add a compare and contrast activity to Bible stories about people lying (Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Esau,

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Ananias and Sapphira). It might be fun to do some reverse role-playing, where you would switch a truth for a lie (or a lie for a truth) and play out the consequences (Daniel, David, Peter, Adam and Eve).

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A boy names Francisco and his grandfather go in hopes of finding a job one Saturday morning. A man yells out looking for gardeners, and Francisco tells the man that his grandfather is a fine gardener. So, they hop in the truck and head to work. They are dropped off to weed the bank. Francisco tells

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the grandfathers its easy and begins to show him what to do. It seems easy enough until the man comes back noticing that Francisco lied. They had done everything wrong. The grandfathers tells him we needed work. We do not have to lie for work. They do everything they can to make it better. So, they took their Sunday to fix their mistake. Then, the boss man says that he will find work for the grandfather, because he is a good man. Perfect way to teach children that there are consequences when you lie. It also teaches children how to act in situations such as the grandfather.

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Summary: Francisco's grandfather just moved to live with them but he only spoke Spanish, therefore Francisco took his grandfather to find work. He told a man that his grandfather was a wonderful gardener which was a lie, he was good at carpentry. They did the job the man asked but when he came to

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take them back home realized they has taken all of the good fresh plants out and left the weeds. Grandfather found out that his grandson had lied to get work and they didn't take pay and were going to make it all right the next day.

Personal Reaction: This story talks about how lying can get you in trouble even in the smallest situations. Francisco learned that good work and being truthful pays off in the end.

Classroom Extension Ideas: Break my students up into small groups and have them discuss the story. 2. Have them continue the story to the next day.

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A day's work is a multicultural book, Mexican culture based. Little boy's dad died, lives with grandfather who doesn't speak English, little boy tries to find work for grandfather. Truck comes over asking for "1 man for a gardening job!" Francisco quickly offers up his grandfather, both the little

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boy and the grandfather jump in the truck and work a day for $60. Grandfather is not a gardener, but goes anyway. Given the job of picking weeds all day. On accident, Francisco and his grandfather picked all the flowers and not the weeds. Job giver is angry. Grandfather says, "we do not lie for work." They offer to come back tomorrow, grandfather and francisco apologize. Ben understands.

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Summary:

A little boy named Francisco is waiting with his grandfather trying to get work for the day ( they are day workers). Francisco is helping his grandpa because he doesn't speak English. A man comes to hire a gardener. Francisco lies to him and tells hims that his grandfather can do it even

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tough his grandfather is a carpenter not a gardener. They get hired to pull some weeds but pull the plants and leave the weeds instead because neither of them know how the plants. When the boss comes back he is very mad but Grandpa offers to comeback tomorrow to replant the plants and pull the weeds. Francisco is upset but then the boss offers to hire them for more than just one day because he thinks Granpa is an honest hardworking man.

Review:

I really liked this book. I think it really reflects the experiences of day workers in a respectful way. I also think it teaches and important lesson about what really is important in life. The book is well written. The story is authentic and pictures are really artistic. They fit the mood of the book. I liked that the characters were very real. Even the boss man who could really easily have been turned into a villain ended up doing something very human.

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Francisco and his grandfather are waiting in a parking lot for a day's work. Francisco is with his grandfather because he has only been in the country for two days. Francisco lyes to Ben about his father being a fine gardner and says they will do the work of two for the price of one person. The man

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agrees and drops Francisco and his Grandfather at a spot for them to pull all of the weed. However, the grandfather knew little about gardening and they pulled the living plant and left the weeds. When Ben got back he was angry but the grandfather agree to come back and pull the weeds and replant the flowers the next day. Ben said that for a good worker like this he would have many more day's of work for him.

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Realistic fiction: Great story about a young Mexican boy who wants to help his grandpa find a job for the day. They both wake up at six and stood in a parking lot with more men also looking for a job. Many men asked the grandpa why he brought a boy to work and that no one would hire him because of

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that. Well they were wrong. A van pulled up with a gardening sign on it and a man stepped out saying he only need one. They boy went up to him and said that him and his grandpa would work for the price of one, but his grandpa didn't know English so the boy was the translator. The man agreed and off they went. Once they got to the garden the grandpa said he was a carpenter and knew nothing about gardens. The man told them he would pick them up at 3, they had to pull out all the weeds. The boy and the grandpa got to work. At the 3 the man came back but only to find out that they had pulled all the flowers and left the weeds. At first the man was angry but, then he said it was part his fault for not showing them what to do. The grandpa was upset/mad at the boy for lying to the man saying they knew how to garden, he offed to come back the next day to replant the flowers and pull the weeds. The man agreed and would pick them up at 6 again. The boy had to apologize, he was trying so hard to get his grandpa a job that he lied. The boy learned a valuble life lesson, telling a lie could get one in trouble.

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A great book to teach that honesty is the best policy and that when people lie it creates a bigger problem. Great book to integrate culture into the classroom.

The situation, language, and images brought me back to San Diego, and prompted me to revisit the topic of illegal immigration and to discuss it with my son. Bunting portrays a completely realistic day for an immigrant who is most likely illegal, but maybe not. He's definitely paid under the table,

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hangs out waiting to be picked up, so most likely he IS. He's certainly exploited like an illegal immigrant. However, the message of the story is that honesty and integrity are more important than a day's pay; the abuelo actually says that one should never LIE to get work. But.... ?

Bunting is so good at bringing real-life, diverse issues into your home. I enjoyed the conversation about character and politics with my 10-year-old most of all.

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Genre: Realistic Fiction
This book fits the genre of realistic fiction because it presents events that could happen in real life.

I would use this book to:
1. teach students about the challenges people who immigrate to a new country face.
2. teach students about character development.

Summary: A boy

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named Francisco, his grandfather and a few other men wait outside a parking lot lot for a car to come by and ask for workers. When a man arrives looking for one worker to do garden work, Francisco tells the man to take him and his grandfather. The man accepts and Francisco and his grandfather jump onto the man's van. Once they arrive at the job site, the man tells Francisco that they need to clean the weeds from a bank. Francisco translates for his grandfather and they get to work. After a long day of work, the man arrives to pick them up and to his surprise, Francisco and his grandfather did the job wrong. The man tells Francisco that he thought his grandfather knew about gardening and Francisco's grandfather gets mad a him for lying to the man. The man allows Francisco and his grandfather to return the next day to fix the garden and even offers them a stable job.

Media: watercolor and gouache

Critique:
"A Day's Work" is a great example of realistic fiction because it presents events that do happen in real life. For example, like Francisco, some children may have a grandparent who they help by translating for them. Also, there may also be students who, like Francisco, come from a low socio-economic background and try to help their parents financially by working.

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This book shows a skewed view of what it is like to be a migrant worker. There are too many stereotypes and negative images.

Genre: Fiction
Review: Great loving story about a boy and his grandfather. Teaches you the lesson of family and honesty. The art shows the feelings and family love that the book is try to tell.
Uses: Can be used to teach children what happens when you lie to you family and people around you. Can also

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be used to teach the importance of family love.

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This book tells the story of Fransisco and his grandfather, who has newly arrived in the United States, and their attempt at finding work. Fransisco lies telling a man named Benjamin that they are wonderful gardeners. Benjamin then offers them a job gardening, which Fransisco and his grandfather

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take. At the end of a hard day's work, Benjamin returns and Fransisco and his grandfather find out they have made an awful mistake and their lie is revealed. Francisco learns the value of honesty, integrity, and a good work ethic when he sees his grandfather respond to this sticky situation.

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