Breaking Through

Summary: The second book in the autobiographical narrative by Francisco Jimenez is a riveting account of the young boy’s struggles as he fights for his version of the “American Dream.” After being deported to Mexico by U.S. immigration agents, Panchito’s mother and father manage to secure immigrant visas for the whole family and return to the U.S., an accomplishment that would be a reason for anyone to celebrate. However, because of his father’s worsening illness and increasing dependence on pills and cigarettes, Panchito (Francisco Jimenez) and his older brother (Roberto) are separated from the family at their father’s request and return to California while his mother, father, and younger siblings travel to Mexico in search of a cure for Mr. Jimenez's illness. At only 14 and 17 years old, our narrator and his older brother take on increasingly adult roles as they struggle to make ends meet; working full time jobs, sending money to their family in Mexico, and keeping up with their school work. In the absence of their parents, Francisco and Roberto begin to discover and immerse themselves in the liberating musical experiences of Rock and Roll of the late 1950s and early 1960s, while trying to maintain their own family’s culture and language heritage alive. Slowly gaining a more Americanized view of the “American Dream,” Panchito struggles to reconcile with his father’s overly-traditional and hopeless idea of a Mexican immigrant's role in U.S. society.

CLD Students: Having read The Circuit, CLD students are sure to quickly find themselves with their nose glued to this book. At times funny, and at times sad, Francisco Jimenez vividly depicts the real struggles of what it is like to grow up as the child of a traditional, immigrant working family while trying to fit into the white middle class-minded American education system; a struggle often experienced by first-generation teenage CLD students. While the language is simple and accessible, the topics (ranging from justice, identity, tradition, obedience, and self-advocacy) allow students to have ample opportunities to engage with the text, while talking and writing about their own personal experiences.

Related Materials/Resources:

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/francisco-jimenez-interview-transcript

Interview script with author

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/francisco-jimenez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWL2d_NYLKc

Interview with author part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaqvKOXr-d4

Interview with author part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1rzJOy-_yY

Interview with author part 3

Available Formats and Languages: Spanish, English, hardcover, paperback, audio CD

Age Range: 6-8th grade

ISBN: 13: 978-0618342488