A young boy with two homelands and a delightful sense of wonder comes to life in Jorge Argueta’s first collection of poems for children. Young Jorgito lives in San Francisco’s Mission District, but he hasn’t forgotten his native El Salvador. He recalls the volcanoes, the tasty cornmeal pupusas, and his grandmother’s stories. As he changes from timid newcomer to seasoned city dweller, Jorgito’s memories and new adventures form a patchwork of dreams — the movie in his pillow — that is perfectly suited to his new bicultural identity.
- ISBN: 9780892391653
- Author: Argueta, Jorge
- Illustrator: Gomez, Elizabeth
- Published: 2001 , Children's Book Press
- Themes: Childhood, Culture, Identity, Memories, sense of belonging
- Descriptors: Poetry, Primary (ages 6-9), United States
- No. of pages: 32
Jorge Argueta take his readers on the trip he made from El Salvador to San Francisco when he was a child. Through his poems he shares the beauty of both his new home and his old. The illustrations, by Elizabeth Gomez, play on Jorge’s childlike imagination and create a world of semi-magic realism. In the poems Argueta touches on the difficulty of having to leave behind his family to try and start a new life so that they could soon join him. Family and friends are a large part of this compilation of poems, which helps to give readers a sense of those who helped shape the person Argueta has become. The talented writer, Argueta, moves back and forth between the excitement and wonders of San Francisco and the beauty and difficulty of El Salvador. Readers get a chance to experience the funny streets and interesting markets of San Francisco, while they also get to feel and understand the hardship of leaving a home and a family of love due to challenging social-political circumstances. The ties of love and family hold throughout this lovely tale of immigrating to the United States.