House on Mango Street

Summary: The House on Mango Street is a story composed of many small vignettes about a Latina girl named Esperanza growing up in a poor hispanic neighborhood. The story, although fictional, has similarities to the life of the author, Sandra Cisneros who grew up Mexican American in Chicago. The vignettes describe the joys and hardships of coming of age for a poor Chicana in the United States. The short stories are told through the perspective of Esperanza and deal with everything from cultural identity to gender roles to poverty and the dreams Esperanza has for her future. It will make you cry as you read the troubles the young girl faces in her journey and laugh out loud at the crazy events that happen in her barrio.

CLD Students: This book is a great choice for CLD students, Hispanic or not. It not only deals with the issues of adolescence but addresses living as a minority in the United States. This book is great for struggling readers all the way to proficient ones. The vignettes make it easy for the book to be taught partially by choosing the most appropriate stories or to be taught in full. The topics touched on in this book are relevant to culturally and linguistically diverse students and can be used for a variety of projects and extended learning.

Related Materials/Resources:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0aZIwCDT1Hvc0YyMnN1Q29SRTA

Here are documents that I have used when teaching parts of The House on Mango Street.

http://www.sandracisneros.com/bio.php

About Sandra Cisnersos

http://www.gradesaver.com/author/sandra-cisneros

About Sandra Cisneros

Available Formats and Languages: English, Spanish, paperback, hardcover, Kindle

Age Range: 5-8th grade

ISBN: -13: 9780679734772