“I Am Teresa offers middle school readers a powerful glimpse into the history and struggles of migratory farmworkers through an engaging and heartfelt narrative. This story promotes empathy, resilience, and cultural awareness, making it an excellent choice for classrooms seeking to connect history with lived experiences.”
—Michelle D. Headley, Former Migrant Education Director, Hart Public Schools
“Readers will discover the story of a young Mexican American girl from Texas, who leaves the school and friends she loves, when her family is forced to travel to Michigan to earn a living as farm workers in Michigan. There are adventures, new friendships, long days of hard work. Teresa and her family leave the reader with an increased understanding of migrant farmworkers.”
—Christina Manker, Former Teacher and Director of Bilingual Programs for the Holland Public Schools
“A brilliant and sensitive story about a young Mexican American girl, Teresa, who travels with her family from Texas to Michigan to join migrant farmworkers working on the sugar beet farms. Through her experiences, readers gain a rich sense of the culture and humanity of Mexican American farmworkers as they adapt from urban living to the migrant lifestyle, including their joys and hardships, and the new relationships with the people they meet.”
—Ruben Martinez, PhD, Professor Emeritus in Sociology, Michigan State University.
